Collateral Damage
by belowtheprecipice
Summary: When Ben reaches out his hand and asks Rey to rule with him, she sees a path to a better future. One where she can help the Resistance, end the war, and save Ben Solo. She knows what she needs to do, even though it frightens her. Rey takes his hand.
1. Downfall

Ben's offer hung through the air, sharper than any blade and heavier than the responsibility on Rey's shoulders.

To Rey, everything hurt, the pain seeping from every nerve in her body— a cruel parting gift of Snoke's torture. He currently lay in pieces just next to her, scattered from his throne, and Rey struggled to keep herself calm every time she breathed in and smelt his burnt corpse.

Rey couldn't imagine the situation becoming worse. After all; she was alive, Snoke was dead, and the Praetorian guard wasn't able to fight her and Ben off. The war would end, Ben would come home, and Rey would reunite with everyone in the Resistance. The thought soothed her.

And then she saw Ben staring at the throne. She had known. The second she had turned and saw that he looked only at the throne, not at her, Rey was aware of what would come. Ben held out his hand for her— an offer, a plea. Rule with him, be at his side, turn to the dark.

The pain ripping through Rey at this betrayal stung more than the burns covering her body.

"Please don't do this, Ben. Please don't go this way." Begging, barely audible. Rey had felt— _seen_ — the Light in him. It had solidified in his eyes as he was to execute her. She knew that he was not too far gone, that this war was not lost, that Ben Solo lived inside of Kylo Ren.

His hand was outstretched, illuminated by the fires around the room. Rey wanted the slap his hand away, to knock him unconscious as he had done to her so long ago, to force some sense into him _somehow_.

Rey had seen his future, and she knew that he would return to the Light, that he would be redeemed. But _how_?

Tears continued to run down her face as Ben tore open Rey's wound over her parents. She couldn't remember their faces, couldn't remember their names, but she could remember being left alone, feeling small, and knowing that she was worth so much more.

"You're nothing. But not to me," Ben said, his hand still out, waiting for Rey to take it. He wore his gloves, and for a moment Rey remembered the feeling of his bare skin. How warm and real he had been once he stripped himself of Kylo Ren.

He had done it for her.

And Rey knew what she had to do. The future laid as clear as the moment they touched— she could see her path and plan. It scared her, but she knew it was right, and she knew that it was what must be done to save the Light, the Resistance, the Galaxy, and Ben Solo. The future was in front of her, presented as Ben's hand.

 _May the Force be with me._

Rey didn't know what to feel or what she should have felt, and she closed her eyes, letting everything wash over her. Another tear rolled down her cheek. Guilt, love, fear, security, hate, responsibility all hit her at once, and she tightened her grasp on Ben's hand for fear that her knees might give out.

 _I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, forgive me._

No one could hear her. Not Finn, not Luke, not Leia. Not even Ben, who gripped her hand like it was a lifeline. Rey supposed that it was, but he didn't know in what way. She wondered: If Ben were to drown, would he take her down with him?

Rey took a deep, shuddering breath. Now was not the time to think of failure. She could not look behind her, or she wouldn't be able to do what she needed.

 _Let the past die._

When Rey opened her eyes, Ben stared at her in wonder. He stared at her like she would slip away, like she was still just a projection of the Force. It was not the expression of Kylo Ren— it was Ben through and through, and Rey's resolve strengthened, because he was still there, and this plan of her's could work.

Ben stepped forward, cautiously, as if waiting for Rey to take a step back. When she held her ground, Ben wrapped his arms over her shoulders and pulled her into a surprisingly gentle embrace. Rey put her arms around his back, and, despite her resolve, felt herself crying again.

She could do this. Somehow.

Her crying startled Ben, who awkwardly rubbed circles on her back. Rey could appreciate the gesture, but in the back of her mind, she understood that he hadn't been this intimate with anyone in who knows how long. For a fleeting second, Rey felt guilty, because Ben actually trusted her.

She would be his downfall.

Ben's offer to rule had been an offer to become his equal, to command the galaxy by his side. Rey saw the power and influence she would hold over the First Order, all in Ben's eyes when he had offered it to her.

The only way to dismantle the First Order would be from the inside. Rey could do it— cause enough problems, stir enough conflict, end the stability of the Order. She could make it so that the First Order would be too unstable to slaughter the Resistance. With enough time to regroup and reorganize, the Resistance could stand a fighting chance, especially if Rey was the one pulling their enemy's strings.

It could work.

So Rey offered her apologies to her friends and Leia, hoping that somehow they would know what she was doing. She offered apologies to Luke, knowing that if word of her joining Ben made its way to back to him, he would blame himself. She offered apologies to Ben, for what she would have to do to save him from the Dark.

She offered apologies to herself, for whatever was about to happen, whatever she would have to do to the galaxy to save it.

Fear ran through her veins at the idea of her future, but Rey felt safe with Ben holding her. She wished that, for just a heartbeat, she could forget where she really was and what was really happening and savor the feeling of an embrace— of Ben Solo's embrace.

But, Ben pulled his arms back, and Rey followed suit. The two of them faced each other, and Rey watched Ben smile. It wasn't a wide smile, and if she wasn't looking closely at his face, she might not have even noticed a change. It was there, though, and in spite of herself, Rey felt the corners of her lips lifting, too.

Maybe it was because she actually didn't feel alone.

The ship shook, and Rey and Ben grabbed onto each other for balance as a _boom_ tore through the air, louder than anything Rey had heard before. It seemed to go down into her bones and shake her to the core.

"What was that?" Rey asked, and she and Ben moved to the viewing glass surrounding the room. Rey's stomach dropped.

Half of the ship was gone, with all of the surrounding Star Destroyers torn in half. A brilliant white light was dying by the time Rey looked closely, and instead fire was emerging from the ship. She turned her head to the left and saw that there was no one shooting at the Resistance as they fled.

"We should be fine. The ship is so massive that something like that won't destroy us," Ben said, not taking his eyes off the destruction.

"We have to leave here before we lose any more of the ship," Rey said, surprising herself with how easily she slipped into saying 'we'.

"With a hit like that, we can't make the jump to Lightspeed. We'd be torn apart," Ben said.

"Evacuate?" Rey suggested. She couldn't imagine how many people were on the ship, but there had to be enough transports to get everyone off.

Ben said nothing and instead continued looking at the chaos spreading.

Rey opened her mouth to force Ben to answer when the elevator opened. Rey turned at the sound of footsteps and met eyes with a pale man entering the room with his hand on his blaster. When Rey looked at Ben out of the corner of her eye, annoyance was plainly written across his face.

"What the hell is this?!" the man yelled, storming to Snoke's corpse. He stared at it for a moment before nudging Snoke's torso with his boot. In spite of how funny Rey thought that was, she didn't dare react.

"There's been a change in leadership," Ben said, straightening his back.

"Did you kill the Supreme Leader?" the man demanded. Then he noticed Rey, standing at Ben's side. His expression morphed from anger to confusion.

"No. He was like this when we found him," Ben said, completely sincere, and Rey briefly considered that she might die in this room due to Ben's terrible explanation. After all, the man was quickly drawing his blaster, his face contorted in rage.

"You killed—!" the man started, but then he began choking, fell to his knees, and reached desperately for his throat. At the same time, Rey pulled his blaster across the room and into her waiting hand. The Force in the room gravitated to her and Ben so easily. She looked at Ben and saw his absolute calm. It frightened her how easily he could slip into the Dark.

"General Hux," Ben said, "are you suggesting that I'm lying?"

Hux choked an answer that Rey couldn't understand, and she wanted to tell Ben to let him go. She had blood on her hands— First Order blood, at that. But this, watching torture, watching a man choke just enough to cause pain but not kill him, was too much.

This was to be her life, now. So, she steeled her back and tried to look like she would have also choked Hux if given the chance.

"No," Hux gasped, and Ben relaxed his grip. Rey could see it in the way Hux sunk closer to the floor. "We have no Supreme Leader, Ren. The First Order is over."

 _Not yet_ , Rey thought.

Ben walked forward, his eyes set on Hux. Everything about him in that moment set Rey on high alert— it was a jolt back to the reality that he was not Ben Solo, the man who she had opened her soul to on a cold, rainy night when she had never felt more lost. The man in front of her was dangerous, cruel, and Dark. She watched Kylo Ren stalk up to Hux and stare him down.

"You have _two_ Supreme Leaders, General," Ben said, his hand tightening every so slightly. A chill ran down her spine.

He meant _her_.

"The girl—?" Hux choked out.

"Rey," she said, surprising herself with her own voice. Based on Hux's reaction, she surprised him, too. Compared to Ben's, her own voice sounded small. It sounded weak.

If Rey were to make the Galaxy believe she was in charge of the First Order, she would need to sell it.

She took slow, heavy steps toward Ben and Hux, glaring at Hux as she did so. There was fear in his eyes, yes, but something else. Something she couldn't place, and that made her uneasy. But, Rey swallowed her nerves and kept her face unreadable.

"Rey," she repeated. She took a final step, standing next to Ben and looking down on Hux. He gave her a mute snarl, and she simply looked bored.

" _Supreme Leader_ Rey," Rey said before Hux could open his mouth to speak.

The title felt wrong to hear attached to her own name, but there was a certain power that seemed to ooze from it. As Rey's spine straightened, her stomach sank.

No turning back now.

Hux made a noise of indignation, and Rey flicked her finger down, pulling only a small bit of the Force to herself, to force Hux to bow close to the floor. She felt disgusted, she really did. This wasn't her.

Supreme Leader Rey wasn't her, but to save the galaxy, she would have to let it be.

Ben was staring at her with a glow in his eyes that she had seen that night in the hut. Rey met his eyes and refused to look away.

 _I'm sorry, but I will save you, even if you hate me for it._

Rey let up her hold on Hux, and Ben released his grip. Hux forced himself up on his hands and looked at them standing there, staring unflinching at each other, and managed, "Long live the Supreme Leaders."

Rey looked on as he made his way to his feet, rubbing his throat.

"All commanding officers and their personnel should evacuate," Ben said, finally looking at Hux. "The ship can follow us to a base for repairs."

"Will we follow the Resistance to Crait?" Hux said as he pulled himself to his feet, staring only at Rey for this.

"There's no point," Rey said. If she failed here, all was lost. "They don't have the numbers or the resources to survive for very much longer."

"Then why not go after them?" Hux countered.

"Why waste our resources doing it? We just lost how many ships? How many men?" Rey said. How many had the Resistance just lost? Was Finn okay? Leia? What the First Order had suffered today was nothing in comparison.

Hux narrowed his eyes, but nodded. Rey did not like him, not at all. He turned on his heel and cast one final glance at Snoke before marching to the elevator. Before Rey and Ben followed, they shared a look that Rey was unable to decipher.

Rey took one last glance through the viewing glass to watch the Resistance flee to safety. Tears stung the back of her eyes, but she held them back. At least for today, she had saved them, and that was no reason to cry. She'd come back to them. Somehow. Someday.

 _Run run run run_

She stepped into the elevator, and as the doors shut her in with two of the most powerful men in the First Order, Ben held out the Skywalker lightsaber. Rey smiled at him and took it from his hand.

All this time, and she had forgotten that he even held it.

* * *

A/N: I'm back.

After I finished Colorblind, I knew I'd be back eventually with a new Reylo fic... and then The Last Jedi happened. So, here I am, ready to write again.

This time, my best friend and editor Kat is back to editing and I'm so so so thankful. Right now, I'm guessing that there could be thirty-three chapters, but once I get further into the plans, I might change that.

Thank you all for reading this chapter, I hope you'd like to stay for this story!

(PS: Ben's talent for excuses is on Leia's level of claiming 'I'm on a diplomatic mission' five minutes after Vader watched her leave)


	2. Supreme Leaders

Ben Solo wished he hadn't smashed his helmet to pieces. Leia Organa and Han Solo's upbringing made his facial expressions extreme and made it impossible for him to project a calm and collected appearance.

Rey, as Ben soon realized, could school her features to be as blank as she liked, and he envied her. She currently sat at a captain's seat, head resting on her hand, wearing one of the sweeping coats of the First Order high ranking officers. She, like Ben, was covered in sweat and blood, with burns on her clothes and a lightsaber at her hip.

She was his equal. Supreme Leaders Rey and Ren.

As per Ben's order, they, along with the rest of the First Order were heading to Canto Bight. He knew that there were a vast number of First Order patrons there who would love to profit on repairing the _Supremacy_ , and he was also aware that Canto Bight would comfortable enough for an indefinite stay.

At least until he and Rey worked out what to do next.

Rey's turning was a stroke of luck Ben didn't actually think would happen. Power like her's, combined with her knowledge of Luke Skywalker and the Resistance, would undoubtably prove to be useful in ending this war.

And, as Ben admitted to himself, he had grown attached to Rey. When she didn't immediately take his hand, Ben began to panic because he _needed_ her to accept his offer and be with him, and this surprised Ben. He wasn't aware of the depths of his feelings until that moment, and it caught him off guard that, after so long of feeling alone, he had connected so deeply to someone.

The ship left hyperspace and began to fly down to Canto Bight. Hux had already reached out to their top partners on the planet and arranged a meeting to discuss specifics about repairs, payments, and lodging. The General glared at the wall as he informed everyone on the other end of the comm that Supreme Leader Snoke was no longer in charge, and that they would meet with himself and the Supreme Leaders Ren and Rey.

Hux's annoyance and obedience was infinitely satisfying to Ben. Even more satisfying was watching Hux try to shoot a glare at Rey but always lose in the staring match that would follow. If Ben had his helmet, he'd hide his smile behind it.

As the ship came closer to Canto Bight, Rey crossed the room to Ben. She stood a head shorter than him, but everything in her posture and face gave her the pride that usually came with height. The sight of Rey— real, flesh and blood, and solid— in a black coat, by his side and radiating power, was enough to make something awaken inside Ben. Something that should have been concerning if Rey hadn't taken his hand.

"Who exactly are we meeting with?" Rey asked, and Ben savored the way 'we' sounded from her.

"Arms dealers. Usually, only Hux deals with them, but I'd like to speak to them directly," Ben said.

"My first outing as _anything_ ," Rey said, and Ben wasn't sure if she was speaking to him or herself. "This should be fine."

"This should be easy," Ben said. "They want to make a profit, we give them an opportunity. And then we can discuss our next steps." Rey nodded once, and looked at the approaching planet. Ben could clearly see the anxiety creeping into Rey's confidence, and Ben realized that it matched his own.

He'd never been in charge of this. Hux took care of finding arms, and Snoke would step in from time to time to intimidate anyone out of line. Ben stayed far, far away from all of this.

Ben could do this, though. With Rey by his side, he could take care of this.

"Ma'am, we'll be landing in just a moment," the pilot announced as the ship broke into a beautiful blue sky. Rey took a step closer to the cockpit, her eyes wide with wonder. Ben supposed that if he had grown up on only one planet, he'd have the same reaction as her.

The casino drew closer— a sprawling maze of a city that seemed…under construction. Ben squinted and could clearly see droids and workers repairing windows and balconies, almost like something had torn through.

"I do hope that whatever situation this city is in doesn't affect our deal," Hux grumbled. Ben didn't want to have another element to think about. He took a deep breath and tried to focus.

None of this would be an issue. It would go off without a hitch. He was Supreme Leader.

The ship landed in the main hangar, and Ben waited as Stormtroopers assembled below the ship. Hux adjusted his uniform and smoothed his hair. Rey took her spot beside Ben, her face calm. Without thinking, Ben reached out and brushed his hand against her's, just once. She turned her face to him and, after, a moment of staring at him like she was trying to read him, gave a small smile.

The doors opened, and Hux descended first. Rey took a single step forward and Ben held out his arm to stop her.

"We don't trail behind him," Ben said. "We get our own entrance." Rey nodded and Ben dropped his arm. He watched Hux as he walked down the ramp, and once he was at the bottom, Ben began walking. Rey walked at his side, their steps synchronized.

The group assembled was made up of humanoid aliens of various species, but they were all dressed elegantly and stood eagerly, awaiting their Supreme Leaders.

One woman stepped ahead of the crowd as Ben and Rey drew close. She wore a midnight blue suit and heels that brought her close to Ben's height. She dipped into a low bow.

"Supreme Leaders, it is an honor," she said, smiling. "I am Ava Guyai, owner of the GravStar engineering company." Behind her, the rest of the group bowed, as if taking her cues. The GravStar company was familiar to Ben; they specialized in large ships that required advanced artificial gravity— much like the _Supremacy_.

Ben kept his face unreadable but inclined his head in a greeting.

"I am familiar with you, Supreme Leader Ren," Ava said to Ben before focusing Rey. "Hux briefed me on you, Supreme Leader Rey. It is an honor to meet you." Rey nodded her head in acknowledgement. Ava continued to smile.

"Supreme Leaders, welcome to Canto Bight. Please, follow me so we can discuss our business privately," Ava said, gesturing to the exit of the hangar. The entire group (the arms dealers, Stormtroopers, Hux, and the Supreme Leaders) began walking.

"I must admit," Ava said, "that my associates and I were surprised when we heard that Snoke had been murdered."

The memory of the throne room flashed back into Ben's mind. The moment Ben had known what to do— the moment Rey had collapsed to the floor as Snoke chuckled. Snoke's voice booming through the chamber, Rey on her knees before Ben— more terrified than he's ever seen her, and a conveniently placed weapon.

"It's tragic," Ben said. "We suspect it was one of his Praetorian guard. They won't present an issue anymore." The group exited the hangar and began down a long and well-lit corridor. Ben could hear the other arms dealers chattering behind him. Hux was directly behind Rey, and Ben knew that the General would be keeping his face unreadable, but that he would rather be throwing a fit.

"What good fortune that he had an apprentice ready to take over," Ava said, turning to the left, with the entire group following her lead. "And that the apprentice had an… equal to rule with."

Ava had seemed to mull over her words before settling on 'equal', and this did not go unnoticed by Ben. He was aware that people would have their suspicions about Rey and why she was in power, but he bit his tongue and decided to not say anything. It was better to not give any fuel for the rumors fire.

"I look forward to my reign," Rey said. Ava looked at her and the smile on her face seemed to falter for a moment. Rey looked incredibly cold at that moment, perhaps more so than Ben did.

"Of course," Ava said. "I look forward to it as well, Supreme Leader." The group stopped before two large doors, and two guards opened them with little dramatics. Ben and Rey entered the room first.

It was an impressive room, with elaborate paintings on all four walls depicting Canto Bight's history. There were no widows in the room, but light shone from a chandelier over the table. The table itself was gold plated, with seats along both sides leading up to the head of the table, were two ornate chairs had been placed. Immediately to the right of these chairs was another, slightly less flashy, chair. Ben and Rey took their seats at the head of the table, and Hux sat to Rey's right. The arms dealers all sat down.

Ben felt nerves creep over him, and he was annoyed at his own emotions. He was the Supreme Leader, these people would follow any orders he gave, and he would begin to rebuild his empire.

"Supreme Leaders," Ava said, standing from her seat. "I would first like to assure you that we at GravStar are honored that you have chosen us to oversee the repairs to the _Supremacy_. A chance to work on such a ship for such an Order does not come often, and once we finalize an agreement, we will be more than happy to begin work."

"Thank you, Miss Guyai," Hux said. "I must ask though: what is happening to the city? We noticed that several areas were under heavy construction." At this, man several seats down from Ava rubbed his hand over his face.

"Some damned criminals broke out of our jail and led law enforcement on a city-wide chase," the man sighed, annoyed. "They freed our fabiers, destroyed our casino, and wrecked private property."

"Have you captured them?" Rey asked, leaning forward on the table.

"No, they stole my private transport and fled," a woman said.

"Two humans and a BB unit did all of this," the man said, "and we couldn't even catch them."

Ben noticed Rey's reaction instantly, however subtle it was. Her eyebrows raised, and he fought to hold back a smile. Ben didn't need to see her face to make the connection, though.

Rey's friends in the Resistance had done all that. The stolen ship must have been what they used to slip aboard the _Supremacy_ before Phasma captured them. In spite of himself and his own annoyance at Resistance fighters, Ben was impressed.

"Well, I certainly hope that your reconstruction will not cause any sort of problems for repairs to our ship," Hux said.

"Absolutely not. We have thousands of workers at our disposal and are prepared to send all of them to you," Ava said.

"How many would that be?" Rey asked.

"One hundred-thousand," Ava said, and Ben nodded.

"Droid or human?" he asked.

"Mixed," Ava said, and Ben didn't say anything. It was perfect. With the _Supremacy_ in orbit and thousands of workers doing the repairs, Ben couldn't see a reason why it should take longer than a month. That was as much time as he could handle the ship being out of use.

"I trust that you are satisfied with our current contract?" Hux asked, and everyone in the room nodded.

"We are. Unless the new Supreme Leaders would like to make any adjustments," Ava said. Hux whipped his head to Ben with eyes that screamed for Ben to not even think about it. The look itself was almost enough to make Ben reopen negotiations out of spite. But, when he wanted to lock eyes with Hux to make him suffer for challenging him, Ben saw Rey sitting next to Hux, unfazed and listening intently. It was enough to make Ben only shoot a glare and nothing more.

"No. Everything is satisfactory," Ben said. Hux visibly relaxed. Ava clapped her hands.

"Well, then, we could show the Supreme Leaders to their lodging, and GravStar can begin to organize our resources," Ava suggested, and Ben nodded. He and Rey stood, and everyone in the room did, as well. Rey let the table first, walking out of the room with her head held high.

Rey, Ben, and Hux were led by guards into a shuttle that took them to where they'd stay. Ben let Rey sit next to the window, and he watched the profile of her face as they flew across the city. She smiled, eyes rapidly moving as she drank in every detail. Ben studied her cheekbones, her nose, the way her eyes crinkled when she smiled. He felt content watching her watch the city move by.

"So," Hux said, "that went off without any problems." He sounded incredibly satisfied. Ben hummed his agreement. He noticed Hux eye Rey but say nothing, evidently finding no problem with how she carried herself today.

The shuttle stopped at a large building and Hux stood to leave. He had one foot out the door when he remembered Ben and Reys' position and bowed to them. Ben silently hoped he would break his back as he did so. When he turned to Rey, she was making a similar face of disdain.

When they landed again, they were in front of a splendid mansion. Servants greeted them as they walked in and led them to an elevator, up two floors, and down a hallway to a large common area. Ben could see that Rey was trying to stop herself from drinking in every detail of the place, and as soon as the servants bowed to exit, she stopped holding back. She crossed to a mural along the back wall and ran her hand over it.

"Do you know what this is?" Rey asked. Ben studied it. It depicted a raging battle, with bodies and gore and glory, but in the center were two soldiers with their hands clasped, light pouring out from around them. Ben tried to remember myths his mother had told him, history lessons he had learned, and even any stories he had read, but nothing came to mind.

"I don't," Ben said.

"Shame," Rey said, gently touching the spot where the soldiers held hands.

"You did well," Ben said. Rey looked over her shoulder at him. "You want to be in this position." Rey nodded, but said nothing and continued to look around the room. Ben didn't speak for some time, opting to just observe Rey as she took in her surroundings. Something about her made it impossible for Ben to look away. The silence didn't seem to bother her, and it wasn't anything awkward or malicious, but still Ben wanted to break it.

"You know who wrecked the casino," Ben said. A statement, not a question. This made Rey smile as she took a seat on a plush couch.

"Of course," Rey said, sounding prideful in spite of the situation. Ben took a seat across from her.

"Do you have anything to say about that?" Ben said, and he wasn't sure why he even asked. She had chosen him, his Empire. Her friendships to the Resistance were irrelevant now.

"I would have loved to have been there to see it," Rey said, and Ben couldn't help but give Rey a slight smile and privately agree.

* * *

A/N: I am absolutely floored by the response the first chapter received. I read every comment and screenshotted them for my friends. Every follow and fave shook me. Thank you all so much. It really means the world to me that you are all excited for this story and so kind. Again, Kat edited this chapter, many thanks to her as well.


	3. Her Fault

Crait almost killed the Resistance. The base was heavily armored and there was equipment to use, but General Leia Organa faced unforeseen complications.

First, there was the fear that no one would come for the Resistance. It swept through the cave like wildfire. Once the distress signal was ignored by dozens of planets, people began panicking. As more and more allies received the signal but didn't respond, the question changed from 'How long will we be in here?' to 'How long can we survive in here?'. The First Order hadn't chased them down to Crait, but no one took comfort realizing that they had been trapped on a mineral planet instead of being chased through space.

Finn tried to keep morale high by leading a group through the cave looking for food and water (there was none) while Poe and Rose examined the rusting speeders to evaluate how useful they were (hardly at all). Lieutenant Connix typed out multiple signals with shaking fingers as Leia suggested additional planets that could help them.

There were no responses by the time night fell, and as many exhausted soldiers settled in for an uneasy sleep, Leia sat at the distress signal, wracking her mind for who else there was in the Galaxy.

Leia searched the Force for Luke, knowing she had felt him just hours before, but he was gone again. She cursed and kicked an outdated mapping display. Several foxes skittered away, and Leia sighed. So many lives had been lost, and she would not have any more deaths.

Then, in the morning, Poe rationed out the meager food and drink that had been stored on the transport ships. It was barely enough, but not a single person complained. When Connix checked her systems again and saw no response, she sighed deeply but said nothing. Leia gently pat her on the shoulder and pulled Poe aside.

Leia didn't let the despair show on her face when Poe informed her that what everyone was eating was half of what they had. She didn't look hopeless when Finn informed her that he hadn't found any additional food. Not one frown crossed her face when Connix informed her that every one of the Outer Rim systems had ignored the distress signal.

But internally, Leia was truly panicking for the first time in a long time. It was the same feeling as knowing there was nothing she could do to save Alderaan, or that there was no way she could stop Han from being frozen, or that she couldn't save Ben from Snoke. She was powerless.

To Leia, the steel doors of the base were beginning to feel like a tomb.

On the second day, there had still been no response to the distress call. No one had come in the night. The food and water ran out. Soldiers sat on the floor, faces blank as they pet the crystal foxes. Leia stood by the window, desperately waiting for help to arrive. Crait was in the middle of nowhere, though. There was a reason the Rebellion had loved this base— no one could ever find it without someone wanting them to.

Leia was polishing her blaster when she heard the telltale sound of the _Falcon_. She promised to the Maker that she would never call it junk again if it managed her to get away from this planet.

The _Millennium Falcon_ landed right outside the base's doors, and Chewbacca emerged, screaming for Leia to come outside, he'd give her a lift. She almost tripped over herself reaching for the controls to open the base.

Leia tried not to let her grief show when the remaining Resistance fighters could all comfortably fit inside the ship.

It was aboard the _Falcon_ that Leia first realized there was something wrong. She had asked Chewbacca how he'd found them, and when he held out Rey's binary beacon, she demanded to know where Rey was. Chewie couldn't look Leia in the eyes as he told her that Rey had gone alone to see Ben aboard the _Supremacy_.

Leia's heart sank. If Rey wasn't aboard the _Falcon_ by then, if she'd never been able to rendezvous with Chewie….

Leia couldn't bear any more losses. And this would be the first, and hardest, for Finn. So, she didn't say anything right away. She sat in the cockpit with Chewie, silently mourning Rey and any chance her son had to come back to her, until a large ship made contact with the _Falcon_.

It was part of the Corellian fleet, and they had received a distress signal but were unable to respond through the open air for fear of being detected by the First Order. Leia remembered listing off Corellia to Connix the day before, and when they provided the exact message the Leia had sent, she asked Chewie to dock with them.

Soldiers greeted them within and led the _Falcon's_ passengers to their mess for food and water. Generals were waiting for Leia when she emerged, and she shook all of their hands.

"You have no idea how thankful I am," Leia said, and the youngest, a girl no older than Rey, nodded.

"We couldn't sit by. My great-uncle Wedge fought for you, and Han Solo was Corellian. To us, you are as good as family," she said, and Leia recognized her as Captain Lysa Antilles. They had met once before, when Lysa was a baby, and Leia was impressed by the life she had made for herself.

"Well, we thank you for that, too," Leia said, and she was ushered through the hangar. She motioned for Poe, Rose, and Finn to follow with her, as they would prove to be useful from their past scheme.

The third unforeseen complication came once Lysa had sat everyone down and begun filling them in about what they had missed.

"So, Snoke's dead," Lysa said, and this caused a physical reaction from Finn and Poe, who both kneed the table in their shock. Rose choked on her water. Leia merely leaned forward onto the table.

"Then why look so distressed?" Leia asked. Lysa looked like she wanted to bolt from the room.

"The war isn't over because new Supreme Leaders replaced him immediately," Lysa said.

"'Leaders'? With an 's'?" Poe asked. Leia anticipated half of the blow that was coming next.

"Supreme Leaders Ren and Rey," Lysa said, and silence fell over the room. It only lasted for a moment.

"What did you just say?" Finn asked, his voice sounding dangerous. Lysa focused on her rings.

Leia wasn't sure what threw her more: Ben or Rey. She knew that Rey walked the line between Light and Dark, just as Ben had, but Rey was training with Luke to become a Jedi… just as Ben had. She took a deep breath and tried to center herself.

What the hell had happened?

"I'm sorry," Lysa said. "The First Order issued an announcement across every network announcing the change in power. We found out this morning."

"Sorry, is this the Rey you've been telling me about? The one who went to find Luke Skywalker?" Rose asked, looking between Finn and Leia. Finn just nodded.

"Tell us exactly what happened," Leia said.

"Snoke was found murdered and shortly after, your son and…Rey," Lysa paused at her name, evidently unsure of how to label Rey, "declared themselves as Supreme Leaders. She was aboard the _Supremacy_ when it was last seen entering hyperspace."

"She declared herself Supreme Leader," Leia said, unsure if she was asking a question or trying to make herself process it.

"Yes," Lysa said.

"Kylo has to have forced her," Finn said, and Lysa looked doubtful.

"Reports came back that she was seen at Kylo Ren's side and speaking freely," Lysa said.

"There's no way Rey could join the First Order," Finn insisted. "We fought to get out of there. She fought Kylo. She's up to something." Leia could hear the desperation in Finn's voice and tried to think from his perspective.

He knew Rey best, and he was right— they had done everything they could to escape and destroy Starkiller Base. Rey had only left to go to Luke. Ben was dangerous and manipulative and would know that Rey as a prisoner in power would break any strength the Resistance still had.

"Finn," Rose said, gently. "Wouldn't we have seen her if she'd been a prisoner? She was on the _Supremacy_ while we were, and I feel like the First Order would show us to her or the other way around."

"What are you saying?" Finn asked.

"I don't think you're wrong. I think the Rey you know would never betray us… but how well do you know Rey?" Rose asked. Finn looked like Rose had punched him.

Leia let her mind drift to Rose's perspective. How well did any of them know Rey? Finn knew her best, but their friendship had only lasted for a few days. Leia didn't know her at all, and she had trusted that she stay with Luke. But Chewie said that she had him drop her off at the _Supremacy_ with no explanation after some sort of argument with Luke.

It was pretty damning.

"I'm with Finn on this one. I don't think she's betraying us," Poe said.

"So, what, she's playing double agent? She's a prisoner?" Rose asked.

"Look, I don't know," Finn said. "But I do not believe that she just turned on everything we fought for to rule with Kylo Ren. That is _not_ Rey. And I don't care what I have to do, I'm going to figure out what's happening."

"General, what are you thinking?" Poe asked, and the attention in the room shifted to Leia. She'd felt betrayals over the years— as a Princess, as a senator, as a sister, as a mother. Betrayals always left the harshest wounds.

She thought of Rey, with her grief-stricken face after she returned on the Falcon without Han. Rey had sat at Finn's bedside whenever Poe couldn't be there to keep vigil. Rey had offered to go to Luke by herself to convince him to come home and save the Resistance.

But Leia had felt it, the darkness in Rey. And to take such a position of power— to rule the Galaxy— was something that few could turn down. Ben, evidently, had felt it, too. Leia herself knew that kind of power had a certain draw to it.

"I don't know," Leia said, folding her hands. "I don't know enough. But, for now, all we know is that she's a Supreme Leader and we have to treat her as such."

"General…" Poe began, but a cold look from Leia ended the rest of his thought. Poe turned to Finn and frowned. Leia sighed.

"I'm sorry," Lysa repeated. Leia had briefly forgotten the young Antilles was in the room.

"We can discuss this further privately," Leia said. "Now, Lysa, where are you going to be dropping us off? There are plenty of allies that we can go to. We're so thankful for your kindness, and we don't want to take advantage of it."

Lysa blinked for a few seconds before saying, "We're not dropping you off. You're coming back to Corellia with us. And then we're going to find you another command ship and fleet."

"Lysa, that's not necessary," Leia protested. Lysa smirked.

"Corellia fought the Empire thirty years ago. We are one of the Core Worlds. Your husband was Corellian. Leia, this is not a problem," Lysa said, standing from the table. "I'll give you the room. There's food in the mess when you're ready." With a short nod to the group, Lysa left the room and shut the door behind her.

"General," Finn said, "you cannot actually think that Rey is with the First Order willingly." Leia swiveled in her chair to face him fully.

"I have been in wars for a very long time. And I have learned to never make assumptions about people without knowing everything." Leia said. "Vader, Ben, even Han. I don't know what happened on the _Supremacy_ that took Rey to the title of Supreme Leader, so I don't want to jump to any conclusions."

"But she's the Supreme Leader," Rose said. "That might be all we know, but it's a pretty important thing to know."

"Rose is right. Finn, you might not like it, but that's all we know right now. And because of that information, we have to deal with her the same way we'd deal with Snoke," Leia said.

"Or your son," Finn said, and Poe shot him a glare. Leia was used to it. The fact that Kylo Ren and Ben Solo were the same person was common knowledge through the Resistance, but it was hardly ever discussed. Leia knew, though, that people thought it during every meeting, battle, and loss. She didn't blame them.

"Or my son," Leia agreed. She looked around the table at Finn, Poe, and Rose and distinctly felt like she was speaking to her own children. Or, what she imagined it would feel like.

Finn seemed to want to argue the point further, but he just closed his mouth and took a deep breath. Leia's stomach growled, loudly, and it seemed to break the tension.

"Maybe we should head to the mess," Poe suggested, and everyone seemed to like that idea. They stood up and headed for the doors, and Leia put her hand on Finn's shoulder.

"I promise you," she said, "that we are not giving up hope on her. If we find anything to prove that she is in danger or not with the First Order of her own free will, we will find a way to bring her home."

Leia couldn't tell Finn that she had held that same belief for her son over so many years. She knew that he'd guess it, but she hoped he could tell she spoke the truth.

Finn nodded and thanked her, but Leia could plainly see the pain on his face. Lysa led the group to the mess, chatting with Rose about the mechanics of this ship as Poe and Finn spoke in hushed tones. Every corner they turned, the crew stared at Leia. She smiled back kindly but didn't stop to speak with anyone.

In a way, Leia supposed she was just as much of a legend as Luke. She searched the Force for him again but found nothing. Only when Leia searched for Luke did his absence pain her. It felt like she was missing a hand— which she guessed was just her way of truly being a Skywalker.

When she entered the mess, Leia tried not to let her face show how she felt when the entirety of the Resistance could fit at two tables. They all ate like they hadn't been fed in weeks, which, considering the stress they'd been under for the past few days, seemed reasonable. Several Corellians were scattered throughout the mess, keeping their distance from the Resistance.

Poe, Finn, and Rose took seats at the closest table as everyone else looked anxiously to Leia.

She didn't want to do this. Breaking her own peoples' spirit was not part of being a General.

"We are being transported to Corellia. From there, we are going to find ourselves a new ship, locate a new base, and rebuild the Resistance," Leia began, and people actually smiled. It pained her.

"This next part isn't easy for me to say, considering the heavy losses we've taken recently. Captain Antilles informed me that Supreme Leader Snoke has been killed," Leia said, and she watched as a brief moment of delirious joy rose on everyone's faces. She raised her hand to stop anyone from speaking before she finished. "But the First Order is still strong, because he had been replaced by two Supreme Leaders."

She paused— not for dramatic effect, but because she didn't want to say it.

"Kylo Ren is one, naturally," Leia said, and Finn already put his head in his hand. Poe rested his hand on Finn's shoulder and Rose closed her eyes. "Rey is the other."

"Our Rey?" Connix asked. Murmurs broke out across the table. Leia could feel the pain in the Force, the betrayal. Compounded with her own pain, it was almost unbearable.

"Yes," Leia confirmed, "our Rey." The murmurs turned to shouts, and Leia wanted to leave. She wanted to go back to Endor or Alderaan, or even Crait. Anywhere but here, where she felt herself falling deeper and deeper into a pit of despair.

Leia knew that no one would ever say it, but she know the thought that entered their minds was: _her fault_. Ben was her son. She had allowed Rey to leave. Leia knew that it wasn't her fault, but that didn't ease her guilt if people thought it for even a moment.

"Enough," Poe said, ending the noise. He looked back to Leia and nodded.

"What's important is that we are together. We are on a path to rebuilding. No betrayal means more than the sacrifices made in the past. We will endure. We will survive. And we will win," Leia said.

* * *

A/N: The best way to start the year was with notifications about this story. Seriously, I am so blown away by the response this has gotten, and I want to thank all of you for everything. Even after Colorblind, I still feel nervous posting new content.

On a side note, the 10 day gap between 'Supreme Leaders' and this chapter is gonna be closer to the usual time between updates. I'm not as quick of a writer as most other people, but I promise you that this story is just getting started and I'll be seeing it through to the end.

Thank you all so much. Happy New Year, let's hope 2018 doesn't suck!


	4. Luxury

Rey awoke in the largest room she had ever slept in. Before she sat up, or opened her curtains, or even acknowledged that she was awake, Rey stretched out as far as she could in the bed. She couldn't believe that she could actually do so without falling off or hitting a wall or just running out of room. The kind of luxury she found herself in was something she doubted she could stop being surprised by.

Just as her feet touched the ground, Rey's door opened and three women entered, all with their heads bowed. Rey moved her hand over her lightsaber, but when she saw how the women quietly moved, set down fresh clothes, and opened the windows, Rey understood why they were there.

They were servants. Rey quickly removed her hand from the lightsaber, ashamed. She tried to let her face be apologetic as she stood and looked at the women.

None of them met her eyes.

One walked to a side room, and Rey soon heard the sound of water running. She hadn't bathed yesterday; she had been too busy asking Ben for details about the city of Canto Bight and repairs to the _Supremacy_.

It turned out that Ben was a wealth of knowledge about the planet and city's history. Rey had sat with him for the entire afternoon and listened to him give her a minor history lesson on Cantonica (which Rey was stunned to learn was actually a desert planet with a massive artificial ocean). At one point, Ben had requested food and wine from an intercom, and Rey noted that he didn't say 'please' when he spoke. After all, as Rey concluded, he was the Supreme Leader.

Although Rey hadn't grown up with the kindness of others to say 'thank you' to, she fought the instinct to thank the servant when he brought in their meal.

Rey sank into the steaming water and sighed. The tub was as large as a room, and Rey briefly considered swimming. Instead, she decided to lay her head against the stone rim and close her eyes. The past twelve hours had been the most luxurious of her life, and she couldn't help but know that wherever the Resistance was, they were not taking baths fit for royalty or sipping rich wine while discussing their upcoming plans.

She hoped Finn was okay. She hoped that everyone was okay and would know what she was doing.

Rey thought about her discussion with Ben. The wine had been lovely, but not as much as the information.

The _Supremacy_ was the First Order's capital. After Starkiller Base was destroyed, the entire First Order had been forced to operate exclusively out of the _Supremacy_. It was a weakness, Ben admitted, and if the Resistance had found out, there would be trouble.

If there was a way Rey could have gotten that information to Leia she would have. If she could control whatever part of the Force could bridge her and Ben's minds, manipulate it to connect to Leia, and then explain everything, she would have done it in a heartbeat.

She dunked her head underwater and let the world go silent. How could she have lived her whole life without the simple pleasure of baths? Rey felt weightless and calm in spite of why she was there in the first place. When she closed her eyes, she could feel the Force around her— it flowed through the mansion, the city, the entire planet. Rey could sense the women nervously waiting outside the bath's door, the groups of servants going through their days, and even Ben.

He was nearby, most likely in the common area, and Rey could feel that he was calm. Which surprised her. Yes, he had been calm when they parted ways the night before (after they had finally been too tired to keep speaking and Ben had begun dozing off on the couch), but she didn't expect him to _remain_ calm.

This was the first time Rey had been alone since ejecting herself onto the _Supremacy._ She and Ben immediately evacuated to Cantonica and then had talked with Ben. Rey had grown up in solitude, and it never bothered her. In fact, with all that had happened, she welcomed the chance to not have to pretend around anyone.

Rey did eventually exit the tub, and the servant women came in, wrapped her in plush towels, and combed out her hair. She requested that they leave her hair down, with no braids or buns.

Rey couldn't remember the last time she had worn her down without any styling.

When the servants brought in clothes, Rey insisted that she could dress herself and dismissed them. She still struggled to find a balance between the Supreme Leader role she needed to play and the kindness that she wanted to show.

Moments later, Rey entered the common area dressed in all black. Her outfit resembled her old one (leggings, tunic, boots), but she also donned the sweeping black coat she had found the day before aboard the First Order ship. She wished she could cut out the symbol of the Order attached to the shoulder. It hung loosely over her shoulders without her sticking her arms through the sleeves— she had caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror, and Rey was forced to admit that even though it felt wrong, she did look the part of Supreme Leader.

Ben sat on the couch, his feet kicked up on a table as he ate breakfast. Rey noticed a plate set out for her as well and settled into the couch to eat.

She looked closely at Ben. He looked healthy— much better than she was used to seeing him. Even the scar across his face had healed much better than she expected. The Force around him was calm, and Rey could feel that there was no conflict in him anymore.

It pained Rey to know that she would need to stir the conflict in order to save him.

"The black suits you," Ben said, somewhat awkwardly. Rey nodded and tried to give a small smile, but, really, she was thinking about all the different ways she could break Kylo Ren.

"Thanks," Rey said, unsure of where to start a conversation. Beyond the day before, the two had never started a conversation on their own terms. And even then, Ben had been the one to start talking. Rey took a sip of caf.

"Hux is on his way over so we can discuss what the First Order will do next," Ben said, and he made a face of pure annoyance. Rey couldn't help but laugh a bit as she mirrored his expression. But Rey knew that she could set things into motion at that meeting.

"Do we have any ideas?" Rey asked, and Ben looked at her without saying anything for a moment.

"No," Ben said. Rey remained silent as a path spread before her.

Leia was a legendary leader. In the short time Rey had spent with the Resistance, she had seen how General Organa always had a plan and then backups just in case. But, Ben? He didn't even have a plan for when there was nothing important to take care of. He didn't even have a simple plan to chase the Resistance.

He was nothing like his mother. He would be awful.

Rey would make the collapse of his power worse.

She drank more caf. Ben stared at her. He couldn't tell what she was thinking— she would know if he could. They were connected, but it wasn't a voluntary connection. She couldn't read his mind…though she wish she could.

They finished their meal in silence. Ben tried to strike up conversation several times, but Rey's short answers made him give up eventually. She was thinking— about how to ruin the First Order without making it so obvious or it happening while she and Ben were still there. She especially wanted to make sure she could pull this off with minimal damage to the Resistance.

It was a daunting task. It was nothing she wasn't prepared for.

Servants came and took their plates away. Rey walked to an open window and stared out. Their mansion was away from the chaos of the city, next to the artificial sea. It smelt real, and Rey welcomed the smell of saltwater. Ben leaned onto the windowsill next to her.

"Maybe we shouldn't do anything for a while," Rey said, watching the sea.

"We can't do nothing," Ben said, but Rey could hear the lack of conviction in his voice. The breeze ruffled his hair and he looked at Rey. She had never seen him in bright lighting before— it was kind to him. As much as it confused her, Rey had to admit that he seemed calmer, and she felt the same. Their interactions through the Force had been tense, but ever since she had taken Ben's hand, he seemed like a different person.

"Yes, we can. The Resistance is weak, the _Supremacy_ can't move out of orbit," Rey said.

"We're the Supreme Leaders," Ben said, and Rey couldn't tell if it was a protest or an agreement.

"Exactly," Rey said, and she looked at Ben. She smiled, and she could see Ben's mind working. He smiled back at her, and Rey considered that this was almost too easy. For some time, they didn't say anything. Rey had gotten used to Ben's presence because of the Force bond, and having him relax next to her was nice.

She combed out her hair with her fingers and Ben followed the movement of her hand.

Hux arrived abruptly, startling Rey and Ben. He gave Rey a strange look as they moved away from the window. She glared back at him, somehow liking this man even less.

"Supreme Leaders," Hux said, and Rey could hear the edge to his voice.

"General," she said, standing before him. Ben remained near the window, and Rey didn't have to look to know he was scowling.

"I've come to discuss our next steps," Hux said. "As you know, even with the _Supremacy_ stuck in orbit, we still have options."

"We've discussed some," Rey said, raising her chin. Hux looked at her with an emotion Rey could identify as 'loathing'.

"And?" Hux said, trying his best (but failing) to not sound like he had a headache.

"We decided to do nothing," Ben said. Silence fell in the room as Hux's face morphed through several different emotions. It took everything in Rey not to smile as his face turned to a snarl.

" _What_?" Hux asked.

"Watch your tone," Rey said, and for a second she though Hux was going to scream. Instead, he took a deep breath.

"Why are we not taking any action? How did you two come to this decision?" Hux asked. He was focusing on Rey, and she knew that he was aware that it had been her idea.

She'd need to be careful around him.

"Our main ship and capital is stuck and the Resistance is weak. We don't even know where they are— there's no point in starting a Galaxy-wide chase with no information," Ben said, and Rey was surprised at his last point. He come to that conclusion without any of her manipulation.

"Might I remind you that _she_ is the reason the Resistance was able to escape in the first place," Hux said, and the warning in Rey's eyes was enough to make him sweat.

"Is there something you're implying, General?" Rey asked, her voice threaded with enough Force to make sure both Ben and Hux could feel it.

"Not at all. I'm just curious as to where your loyalty lies," Hux said, and Rey wondered where this man's concern for his own life lies. It scared her that he could see through her so quickly. It scared her that she held the power to end this man and his line of questioning.

"I can assure you, Hux, that her loyalty is not to be questioned," Ben said, and there was a tightness in his voice that made Hux drop the subject. When she looked at him, Rey was shocked to see that he didn't have a lightsaber drawn or his fist clenched in anger or any sign of the temper Rey knew existed.

"Thank you," Rey said, turning her attention back to Hux and daring him to break eye contact.

"General," Ben said, "what are you suggesting?"

"Skywalker," Hux said. "We find Skywalker."

Rey's blood ran cold. Everything in her mind stopped. She forgot how to breathe. Even the mask of Supreme Leader faltered for a moment, and Rey knew that her face reflected her shock. Hux smirked and looked over head to Ben.

"How would we go about that?" Ben asked, and Rey already knew. She should have seen this coming. _Stars_ how could she have not anticipated this? It was the first thing Ben had wanted when they were connected.

"She's been there," Hux said, and he turned to Rey. "Before you came aboard the _Supremacy_ , you were with Skywalker, yes? You know where he is and how to find him."

Rey was slipping into panic. Hux knew that she had been with Luke. It wasn't a question.

"I do," Rey said.

"Supreme Leaders, we all know that Skywalker poses a threat. As long as he lives, so does the Resistance," Hux said, stepping around Rey to stand between her and Ben.

"Agreed," Ben said, and Rey felt like she was being stabbed.

"I suggest that we listen to Supreme Leader Rey's direction to Skywalker, and we end him," Hux said. Rey looked at Ben, and his eyes were wide and shining. The last time he'd seen Luke, there was a lightsaber over his head and, then, Kylo Ren was born.

Rey and Ben's eyes met, and she knew there was no way she'd talk him out of this. Fear settled into her heart and she tried desperately to calm herself. It was no use, because she hadn't anticipated having to out-think and manipulate Hux.

He'd pinned her, and he knew it. If she were to reject the idea, her loyalty would be in question. Her presence would be in question.

Ben's trust in her would be in question.

She was going to have to bring them to Luke.

* * *

A/N: If you're one of my IRL friends who discovered my fanfic fame through a certain friend who can't keep his fucking mouth shut, WELCOME TO HELL!

But anyways, thank you all so much for your patience as I wrote this chapter. I had to readjust to non-vacation life and it was a bit tough to do. Thank you all so much for reading, and thank you Kat for scream-fighting me about grammar.


	5. Discord

Ben hated when Hux smiled. Something about it was so vile to him that not even the promise of ending Luke Skywalker was enough to make Ben smile in return.

"Thank you for your suggestion, General," Rey said, her voice tight. "Would you please give us some privacy to discuss this?"

The look she gave Hux was enough to kill, and Ben could feel the Force around her becoming tense. It was nice, having someone who hated Hux as much as Ben did.

Hux nodded with a victorious look on his face and turned to leave. For a moment he hesitated in the doorway, and Rey waved her hand to shut the door before he could open his mouth.

Ben stared at Rey and said nothing. She took a deep breath and and focused on the ornate rug. Ben wished that he still knew how to speak kindly.

"What?" he asked in his least intimidating voice. Ben knew that he couldn't scare Rey, but there was only so much he could do to undo his Kylo Ren habits.

Rey stuck out her lip and remained silent. Ben could tell the gears were working in her mind, and he watched her eyes dart back and forth as she thought.

How could she be thinking so much when the path lay so clear?

Ben wondered if maybe he should try to adopt her level of thinking. She hadn't even been in charge of the First Order for a week and she was already thinking more than Ben.

He kept staring at Rey as she stared at the ground. Her fingers fidgeted with the sleeve of the coat slung over her shoulders.

"I don't think we should go after Luke," Rey said, and Ben shoved away his reflexive anger. He felt his jaw twitch as he forced it to remain closed. Yes, his mask usually meant that he would never hide his expressions, but his rage would manifest in broken fixtures and dead Stormtroopers.

Not now. Not with Rey.

"And why not?" Ben asked through gritted teeth. Rey frowned and sat on the couch, folding her legs underneath her.

"We're missing so much of our fleet. We can't lead an attack on Skywalker," Rey said.

"He's one man," Ben said and Rey looked at him. Her expression clearly said _you know that isn't true_. He cursed under his breath and was forced to agree.

"I just think we need to wait until we have the manpower to take him," Rey said. Ben pinched the bridge of his nose. He didn't want to wait. He'd waited _years_ to take out Luke.

"If we plan this right, we can kill him without needing an absurd amount of manpower," Ben said, and Rey shook her head. Ben could feel that she was hurting.

"I don't want to do this, Ben," Rey said.

"You bested him with a lightsaber before you left, did you not?" Ben asked, walking in front of her. Rey nodded.

Ben tried to focus on her instead of his frustration. Of course, he needed Rey to agree with him in order to get Luke's location. She could navigate to whatever corner of the galaxy his uncle had retreated to. But, also, he _wanted_ her on his side. Ben hadn't offered Rey to be his equal as some sort of empty gesture.

They were both Supreme Leaders.

"Ben," Rey said. "I don't want to do this."

"There's no reason not to," Ben countered.

"The reason is that I don't want to," Rey said, and Ben took a deep breath.

"You're being childish," Ben said, and Rey raised her eyebrow, and Ben knew that she was trying to say _and you would know_.

"Look, Luke poses no threat. He didn't want to see me, didn't want to help, didn't want to be anything but some lonely hermit. We should just let him," Rey said.

"Then what happens when Leia goes to him? When she convinces him to fight?" Ben asked as he began to pace.

"Then we fight him. You know that this won't be easy," Rey said, and Ben tried to read her. He tried to root out what she was trying to say to him, because he was sure that there was something else behind her words.

He couldn't place it.

Ben knew Rey's past, present, and future more than she did, but he couldn't understand what brought such grief to her face.

So Ben stalked into his room and slammed the door behind him. He took a deep breath and took inventory of what in the room was breakable. Ben supposed that anything was breakable if thrown hard enough. In the corner of the room, which was large enough to house a dozen Stormtroopers, there was a small glass statue of a human, reaching up. Ben stormed to it, picked it up, and threw it as hard as he could into the stone wall. He used the Force to make the impact more severe, and he yelled as it shattered across the floor.

Frustration morphed into rage, and in the back of his mind, Ben wondered why it happened so quickly. Why couldn't he sit with Rey and discuss this matter like a leader should? The fact that he couldn't enraged him further, and he stomped on a rather large piece of the figure.

Rey had chosen _him_. She had chosen to leave the Resistance and accept power. The simple fact that Rey didn't want to kill Luke cast doubt over Ben's mind. Because of course anything he did or thought was best wasn't enough.

Ben wanted to eliminate anyone or anything that could turn her back to the Light— anything that could make her turn away from him.

The tantrums Ben threw were infamous among the First Order, and though there was no way Rey could have known about them beforehand, he had a feeling that she wasn't surprised by his current rage.

It went on for some time, with the figure turning further into dust every time Ben ground the pieces into the floor. He imagined it was Luke's lightsaber, the one he had held over Ben's sleeping body so many years ago.

Just as Ben began to feel calm, his door flew open and Rey walked in. She was a full foot shorter than him, but the look on her face made Ben feel small. Her eyes were wide, her eyebrows drawn into a furious pinch, and her mouth seemed to barely hold back whatever words were about to spill from her lips.

Before she even opened her mouth, Ben felt shame and regret.

"Are you done?" Rey asked, her voice lined with something more deadly than fire. "Good. How dare you storm out and throw some tantrum like you're a teenager who's never has someone say 'no' to you?"

Ben almost reminded her that very few people _could_ ever say no to him, but she continued toward him and he kept his mouth shut. The memory of her standing over his body on Starkiller Base came to mind, and an instinctive note of fear ran up his spine.

"I won't deal with this. I won't speak to a wall or try to cooperate with someone who smashes things to pieces when he doesn't get his way," Rey said.

"Then why won't you leave?" Ben asked, his voice flat and accusing. Rey was right in front of him now, her boots crunching the glass beneath her feet.

"I'm made of stronger stuff than you," Rey said. "And that means that I will stay here and rule, but I won't put up with your shit. Get yourself together."

"So you plan on being Supreme Leaders and not working together? That sounds like a wonderful way to rule," Ben said, sarcastic for the first time in a long time. Rey threw her hands in the air.

"That's what you're doing right now! You won't even stay in the same room to discuss a plan, you just left to smash things against a wall like a child," Rey said, her voice rising. She was standing on the balls of her feet to yell in his face, and Ben was spurred on by how she stooped to his level.

"Your plan is shit. Why the hell would you leave our greatest enemy alone? Do you have any idea how terribly that will end? You aren't listening," Ben said, trying to restrain his voice so this wouldn't evolve into a shouting match. He didn't want a fight. He couldn't help it.

"Why can't you just accept that maybe I don't want to kill someone who taught me the Force? Why are you so set on killing him?" Rey demanded.

"He didn't have that hesitation when he had a blade over my head," Ben said, and he watched Rey take a sharp breath. She lowered herself back onto her heels and stared at Ben for a moment, slowing her breathing.

"You can't let the one incident define your entire life," Rey said, a note of tenderness in her voice. Ben glared at her. "You're so much more than what he did to you."

"You're right," Ben said. "I am so much more than that. And I want to end it. I want to end a man who was ready to kill his own nephew in his sleep."

"Ben," Rey began, but Ben closed his eyes and threw up a hand.

"No. No, I'm not changing my stance on this. I've wanted this for a decade now. And now, I can do it. I can kill Luke Skywalker and crush the last hope of the Rebellion," Ben said.

"Revenge won't get you anything," Rey said.

"This isn't revenge. This is how you win a war," Ben said, and understanding bloomed in Rey's eyes.

There was, of course, a real war going on, out there, somewhere across the Galaxy. The war that was so close to being won, with only a few dozen Resistance fighters left. Yes, one of them was Leia Organa, and Ben knew that with his mother involved, it would never be easy.

But, there was a war within him that had been waged since before his birth. One that Rey had so desperately wanted to end aboard the _Supremacy_ , one that he could now tell she could see the end of. And he knew how close he was to truly feeling at peace.

He couldn't do either without her.

Rey was silent, staring into Ben's eyes, and there was a tension between them. It made Ben conscious of his own breathing, conscious of how they were standing in glass that he had shattered in a foolish rage, conscious of how everything he had done foretold that Rey deserved so much more than a broken man with anger that followed him like a shadow.

"Fine," Rey said. "Fine. We'll do it." She turned on her heel and left, leaving Ben to a victory that held no joy.

Ben had servants come to clean his room and deliver food. Rey did not leave her room. When Ben reached out in the Force, he could feel her pain, but couldn't place where it had come from. He tried to meditate, but he couldn't focus enough to let go.

It took Ben several hours to approach Rey's door. He nearly opened the door and forced his way in, but decided against it. For several minutes, he tried to knock but kept pulling his hand back as if the door would burn him.

This was ridiculous.

"Just come in!" Rey yelled. Ben briefly considered retreating to his room, but steeled himself instead and entered.

Rey sat at her window, her legs crossed under her as she leaned against the glass. Her eyes were closed and her hands rested in her lap. Ben had never seen such a peaceful image.

"I could feel you standing outside," Rey said. Ben said nothing. The sun was setting behind her, and the glow of it took him back to the hut, which had happened barely two days ago.

Ben struggled to find something to say that wasn't cruel or the beginning of an argument. After standing in an awkward silence for a minute that felt like several hours, he shuffled closer to the window. Rey peeled one eye open to watch him, and though Ben could feel pain and confusion radiating from Rey into the Force, there was no sense of fear or wariness. Something about this comforted Ben.

Ben looked out the window and saw a luxury boat rolling across the ocean, its lights just blinking on. He could picture the wealthy on there, laughing and drinking as the Galaxy burned around them. He could practically smell the alcohol in the air, hear the music drifting through the air, taste the saltwater splashing onto the guests as they broke an impressive wave.

Rey was staring at him. Ben forced himself to look her in the eyes.

"Have you ever been out on the ocean?" Ben asked.

"I haven't," Rey said.

If he knew how to apologize, Ben would. Instead, he said, "I'm going to get us a boat. And we're going to enjoy ourselves."

She studied him like she was trying to crack his code, like he was a machine she could dissect and reassemble in a way that would help her understand. And he wanted her to. He so desperately wanted her to understand.

Instead of asking what he meant, or demanding a different apology, or forcing him from her room, Rey said, "That sounds lovely."

* * *

A/N: Hey. It's been a hot second. Real life got a bit intense for a while there. But we're here. Thank y'all so much for your patience. It means the world to me. Additionally, a huge thank you to Kat for sticking with me and editing this super late chapter. And for encouraging me to use meme-worthy chapter titles (discord, I'm howling at the moon and sleeping in the middle of a summer afternoon...).


	6. Strategy

Leia had visited Corellia on several occasions, and each time felt different. Taking an infant Ben to Han's childhood home felt very different than desperately trying to find Han after Ben had left them. Arriving with the scraps of the Resistance and on the run felt incredibly different than any prior Corellian visit.

"No one should be able to find you here in the countryside," Lysa said to Leia as they landed in a covert hangar. The weather outside had been sunny and beautiful, and Leia wished that she were on Corellia for any other reason.

"It should also direct attention away from your fleet and make sure that no First Order attacks come your way," Leia said, nodding in approval.

"Please don't jinx us," Lysa said, and Leia couldn't tell if she was serious.

Once the ship landed, the Resistance emerged into the small base and grouped around Leia and Lysa. Chewie pulled the Falcon in just a moment later and gave Leia a look that let her know that he felt the same thing about being on Corellia without Han.

Being able to stand before the crowd and look every single Resistance fighter in the eyes broke Leia's heart. She didn't let it show.

"You can all go settle in," Leia said.

"There's enough room that everyone can take their own bunks," Lysa said, and she grimaced at Leia's frown. There should've never be enough room for the Resistance to comfortably spread out. It didn't sit right with Leia, who stiffly nodded as the group began scattering.

"General," Lysa said, "I'll escort you to your room if you'll follow me."

Leia walked in silence next to Lysa as the gears in her mind began working. The nearest city was dozens of miles away, and Corellia was usually uninvolved with the current war. The Resistance seemed to be safe for a time.

The fact that Leia could actually take a day to rest and mourn her husband unsettled her. Hell, she could take several days. The Resistance had no ships, no plan, and barely any morale. There was no fire underneath them to keep them on their feet for the time being. If anything, their drive seemed to be fading by the second.

The news of Rey taking the title of Supreme Leader had haunted the Resistance over every hour they spent abroad the Cornelian ships, and Leia had no way to do damage control. She knew that the rumors were flying— rumors questioning not only Rey's loyalty and motives, but also that of Finn, Poe, and even Leia. No one would ever bring these rumors to the General's face, but the last thing she needed was a further fracturing of loyalty within the Resistance.

"Here you are," Lysa said, holding a keycard up to a door. With a chirp, the door slid open, and Lysa handed the card to Leia.

Leia stood at the door, unable to take a step inside. The room was done in the older style of the Core Planets, with stone architecture and art of the origin of the Galaxy. Everything was clean and neat, with a station set up for working on one side of the suite, and double doors on the other side leading off to a sleeping area.

It looked like an old command suite on Alderaan.

"We had this redone recently. The entire base is done in Alderaanian style. Hopefully we got it right," Lysa said, peering at Leia from the corner of her eyes. Leia forced down the scratch in her throat and took a hesitant step inside.

The wood floor squeaked ever so slightly as she walked, the plants on the windowsill (a rare variety that Leia had kept as a child) tilted toward the sudden movement, and the painting on the wall could have hung in the royal gallery of Leia's adolescence.

Everything about the room made her want to cry. Instead, in a tight voice, she thanked Lysa.

"The comm on the desk links directly to other rooms on the floor. Poe, Finn, Rose, and Chewbacca have rooms just down the hall. You just need to speak their names and the system will connect you," Lysa said.

"Would you like to report to any intelligence briefings we have?" Leia asked, running her fingers over a map carved into the table. It showed most of the Galaxy, save for the Unknown Regions.

"Only if you'd like to have me there. Corellia wants to help you and the Resistance in any way we can. We've sat idle for far too long, wanting to avoid another Galactic War. But the time for peace is gone. If you want our help— our ships, our people, our resources— it's yours," Lysa said. Leia smiled and nodded her head.

When Lysa had closed the door and Leia was finally alone with her thoughts, she took a deep breath and sat at the map table. She fanned her hand out and ran her fingers over the places she had been, starting in the Outer Rim. From Tattooine to Hoth, from Naboo to Takodana, from Coruscant to…. Her finger stopped over a carved circle in the table, and she didn't have to look to know that it was Alderaan.

Her first loss. It had been the beginning to a life full of them.

Leia thought back to Rey, to how determined she had been to take down the First Order. Leia hadn't seen herself in the girl, but she had seen Luke, clear as day. She had even let her mind wander and wondered if Luke had somehow had a daughter and never told Leia, but Rey didn't have Skywalker blood running through her veins. Leia couldn't feel any.

After sitting at the table for some time and thinking of all the ways that Rey could have been coerced into the role of Supreme Leader, Leia undid her hair and stepped into the sleeping area and lay on the bed, not bothering to do anything except kick her boots off. The sun was only just beginning to set, but traveling through hyperspace had a way of throwing off an internal clock.

Leia let herself cry. She let herself feel the loss of her husband for the first time, and she let sobs wrack her body. She allowed herself to process her grief for Han, and then she did it again for Ben's betrayal.

It was the dead of night when someone knocked on Leia's door. She sat up and stretched, feeling well rested and… okay. She felt much better than she had felt in a while.

There was a second knock at the door, and Leia grabbed her cane and turned on the lights as she walked to the door. Connix stood outside, her own hair undone.

"General," she said, noting Leia's appearance, "I didn't mean to disturb you. It's just that the time of day here—"

"Is different than space," Leia finished. "It's no problem." She stepped aside to let Connix in.

"I just received some information that I thought you'd be interested in," Connix said, sitting at the star table. She sat with her feet tucked under her legs, and she placed a holo into the center of the table, right over the Core Worlds. Leia was about to leave and get Poe, Rose, and Finn but then she remembered the comm.

"Poe?" Leia said aloud, unsure of how to work the comm.

"Yes, General?" Poe replied almost instantly, his voice filling the room. Leia raised an eyebrow, impressed at the technology. Poe sounded wide awake, so Leia didn't feel bad when she requested that he join her and Connix.

"Of course! I'll be right over," Poe said.

"Could you also grab Finn and Rose?" Leia asked.

"We're already here," Rose said, and Leia could hear the smile in her voice. There was a laugh accompanying it from Finn, and Leia supposed that she should have guessed that they'd all be together.

The comm shut off, and less than a minute later there was knocking on her door. She welcomed the trio in and settled at the table with them. She thought about calling in Lysa, but it was the middle of the night for her, and Leia figured that she could just fill her in come morning.

"So, with the full technology here, I was able to make contact with our spies across the Galaxy and figure out where Rey and Kylo Ren were hiding out," Connix said, beginning to tap through the holo security clearances.

"How long did it take you to locate them?" Rose asked.

"They weren't exactly hiding," Connix said as a large image appeared from the holo. Leia leaned closer to examine it.

She could clearly make out Ben, standing on the edge of a boat, leaning out over the ocean with his arms crossed over railing. She hadn't seen him in person for several years now, but she had seen enough intelligence reports to be able to spot him in any image. In spite of the fact that Ben's helmet was gone for the first that Leia could remember, she wasn't able to see his face. This both disappointed and relieved her.

"Where was he?" Finn asked, and Leia could hear the hidden question in her face. Where is Rey?

"Cantonica," Connix said.

"How the hell did that happen?" Finn muttered. Connix shook her head and flicked her wrist to go to the next image.

It was in higher quality, and Ben had turned his head to the side to look down at a short figure next to him. Leia could see a small smile on his face— a smile so small that only Leia or Han could have ever known it was there.

"Well, she certainly doesn't look like a prisoner," Rose said, and Leia turned her attention to the figure. They were small, with hair blowing out in the wind and a grin so wide that Leia found it impossible to ignore.

Rey looked happier than Leia could have ever imagined.

"Oh, that does not look good," Poe said, almost to himself. Leia had to agree. Rey looked nothing like a prisoner. Or a hostage. Or anything that would out her by Ben's side unless she wanted to be.

Leia looked at Finn, who had gone completely silent. He stared at the image projected up, his mouth pressed into a hard line. Leia checked Rose, who was looking at Finn with a mixed expression that Leia identified as pity and 'I Told You So'. Leia hadn't known Finn for that long, and she had known him and Rose as a unit for even less time, but she could tell that this news was going to put some sort of strain on whatever was growing between them..

And whatever was growing between her son and Rey— whether it be a joint power grab or something more— seemed to be untroubled, and that was not good for the Resistance.

Connix flicked her wrist once more, and the image that appeared was crystal clear: Rey and Ben staring out together over the edge of the boat. They weren't touching, weren't looking at each other, but there seemed to be a peace between them. Complete silence fell over the room. Leia couldn't hear anyone breathing.

On Rey's hip, clearly visible to Leia, was the Skywalker family lightsaber. She knew that Rey had it, but to see it so clearly displayed was unsettling.

"They're certainly enjoying themselves," Poe said, folding his arms over his chest. Leia could see that Poe was trying to solve some puzzle in his head, that he hadn't settled on any certain thought.

Leia, on the other hand, didn't have the luxury. She wanted to believe that Rey was forced to be there or that she had some sort of plan, but there was no evidence for it. Sure, Leia could hope for an outcome where Rey returned to them with information on the First Order, but as much as Leia needed to hope, she also needed to prepare for the scenario in which her hope was misplaced.

"I'm sorry, Finn. I really am," Leia said, and Finn tore his eyes away from the projection to look at Leia with a pleading expression.

"What do we do, General?" Connix asked, taking the image down. "I know that we aren't in a position to launch an attack or mission, but there hasto be something that we can do."

Leia grasped her cane and began to pace the room. Every time she brought her cane down, a click echoed through the room.

She didn't know what to do. Leia genuinely couldn't think of a plan this time. Rey had been the plan. Luke had been the plan.

Again, she tried to reach out to Luke with the Force and found nothing. She really thought that the Force would help her out now that she really needed him, but the Force had its own agenda. It always did.

"Finn and I managed to make a run to Cantonica by ourselves. We can launch a small mission," Rose suggested, and Leia could appreciate Rose's drive. She could see her own youthful determination in Rose, and she made a vow to keep on eye on the mechanic in the upcoming war.

"I can't risk anyone right now. We haven't even begun to rebuild," Leia said.

"But can we afford to do nothing?" Poe asked, and Leia shook her head.

"Right now, we might not have a choice," Leia sighed.

"Doing nothing could actually be to our advantage," Connix said, twirling a stray lock of hair. "The last time the First Order saw us, they left us for dead."

"And if we don't appear for a while…" Poe added, nodding his head, eyes widening.

"They'll actually think that they won," Rose finished with a tiny smile on her face. Only Finn remained silent, a troubled look still clouding his expression. Still, Leia couldn't help but smile at her young Rebels.

"That gives us time to rebuild and recruit so that we can launch a successful attack when the time comes," Leia said.

"So we let the First Order rule the Galaxy and not do anything about it?" Finn asked, stunned. Leia saw her younger self in Finn right then, in his inability to sit back and strategize. He wanted action, as Leia so often did during the Rebellion. Patience was something that Leia had to consciously learn as she grew into her military and political career. Poe was still learning it, but he had a certain respect for authority that Leia had never quite learned.

Finn, though… Finn would have to do as Leia had done and learn that sometimes, taking time to think would be worth it in the end.

"We won't not do anything," Leia said, folding her hands on her cane. "We'll recruit, collect information, gather squads, make repairs, and plan our next attack. That's hardly nothing."

"That's not what I mean," Finn said, a bit too forceful. He caught himself and took a breath (Leia noted that she would never take time to collect herself when she was as young as he was). "General, are we just going to let those two rule the Galaxy without putting up a fight? We know what Kylo is capable of."

"Finn," Leia said with a sadness that she knew could be felt in the Force, "you can't say it's only Kylo. I know you don't want to, and and I'm sorry that you do, but you have to acknowledge Rey's position and capability as well."

Finn's face dropped and Leia was truly sorry. But, the gears in her brain were working, and she was more strategy than sympathy in that moment.

She was planning on how many ships the Resistance could borrow from Lysa to go and try to pick up their scouts.

She was counting how many spies were scattered through the Outer Rim.

She was thinking of what Ben would do next, because her son had never shown her aptitude for strategy. In every game they played, Leia could think of his next five moves. Later, when he had joined Snoke, Leia could determine the outcome and losses of a siege if Ben was the one leading it.

So, she took a step closer to the table, and Connix lifted up the holo so the map would be clearly visible.

Leia thought of all the places that the First Order would be better off without. No, Leia's brain reworked to think of the people— the individuals.

Leia's eyes darted to Jakku. Rey would be top of the list for Ben if she weren't by his side.

Perhaps Leia herself? Leia allowed herself to think of it for a moment while her eyes settled on Alderaan. Though eliminating the leader of the Resistance would effectively squash it, she could feel Ben when she was on the bridge. She knew that he couldn't shoot her. So she ruled herself out and looked over rate map again.

Thousands of planets, trillions of life forms, and Leia knew that just one was going to be in danger. Because her son had a one track mind.

She followed the coils of the Galaxy outward and back into the Outer Rim when she saw 'Tattooine' labeled clear as day.

Of course.

"Rey knows how to get to Luke, and that's what Kylo wanted in the first place," Leia suddenly said, stepping back from the table.

"General?" Rose asked.

"They're going to go to Luke," Leia said, unsure of how worried she should be. So, instead, she put on her General Oragana face— the one that removed all personal attachment and only showed cold calculation.

"What are we…" Finn began, but then rephrased: "What can we do?"

Leia reached far out into the Force before she answered, hoping she could warn her brother. But, she found nothing there. None of Luke's warmth was in the Force. It had been gone for ten years, but she had felt it just a day before. Leia wanted to scold her brother over his selfishness, and she supposed that if she ever saw him again in person, she would make it a point.

"None of us know where he is," Poe said, frustrated. "The map was abandoned on the Raddus because Rey could get to him, and we assumed that she would come back. It wouldn't be a problem."

"But Rey wasn't the only one to go to Luke," Connix said, sitting up straighter.

"Where's Chewbacca?" Finn said, looking as if he was going to fetch the Wookie himself.

Leia began to formulate a plan before she even answered Finn. Because the resources on hand might have been limited, but the minds and spirits that was working with were anything but.

This was their Resistance. And it were far from being over.

* * *

An: Hey everyone!I reuploaded this chapter to try and fix the formatting. I'm not sure why it uploaded the way that it did. It's been a pretty crazy month, but tonight I graduated from community college! I'll be enrolling in a university in the fall, so hopefully I have the free time over the summer to write as much of the story as I can! Thank you all so much for your support and patience, and, of course, thank you to Kat for editing!


	7. Tension

The one beautiful thing about Jakku was the night sky. Rey had spent countless nights lying atop her home, looking at the stars. She always imagined a ship flying down from those stars, landing right next to her, and revealing her long-lost family come to collect her.

But, she figured that the stars above Cantonica's fake ocean were beautiful as well. Rey sat cross-legged, her eyes looking for familiar star patterns and watching the tell-tale light of ships jumping into hyperspace. Ben sat next to her, and Rey could feel that he was watching her more than the stars.

He had been much calmer since they set foot on the boat, and it relieved Rey that she wouldn't have to deal with a tantrum out on the water. Of course, she had made it perfectly clear that she wasn't going to deal with his tantrums at all.

The way Rey saw it, she had a three-step plan: contain Ben's Kylo Ren tendencies, convince him of the Light he already carried, and return to the Resistance with Ben Solo. It was a simple plan, but far from easy.

The ship crested a particularly large wave, and saltwater sprayed onto Rey's face. She grinned as she wiped her eyes. There was so much water. Yes, there had been unbelievable amounts of water on Ach-To, but she'd never gone out onto it. Her brief time on the planet had been spent on rocky cliffs, unable to feel the ocean.

Thinking of Ahch-To brought Rey back to the matter at hand: Luke. She knew that Ben was still determined to find Luke, and that the entire night had been a way to try and win her over to the idea.

She was effectively cornered. Saying no to eliminating Luke would not only alert Hux that she wasn't completely with the First Order, but it would also drive a massive wedge between herself and Ben. She doubted that she could give false information, as the bond between her and Ben allowed them to feel bits of emotion and thought from the other. There was no doubt in Rey's mind that Ben would be able to feel her lying.

And, as much as it pained her to admit, Ben's reasoning for going after Luke was beyond petty revenge. It was a legitimate strategy that Leia would have probably taken had she been in Ben's position. Ignoring it was stupid.

All Rey could do was stall.

"Rey," Ben said, drawing her from her thoughts. She looked at him, and she thought of another night, another time with just the two of them alone. It hadn't been that long ago, but Rey felt ages older.

"Ben," Rey said when he didn't say anything to follow. The name sometimes felt odd to roll over her tongue, but she liked it more than Kylo Ren. She liked Ben more than Kylo Ren.

His face didn't change at the sound of his name, but some unfamiliar emotion glowed off of him into the Force.

"You know what we have to do," Ben said. There was no edge to his voice, nothing malicious. This was a calm that Rey had only seen when it was just the two of them. This was a part of Ben that the rest of the Galaxy either never knew existed or presumed dead.

"You know I don't want to," Rey said, equally calm. She held eye contact with Ben, and neither of them seemed to have any intention of backing down. Ben seemed to contemplate his words before speaking again.

"It isn't easy," Ben said.

"What isn't?"

"Killing someone you love," Ben said. A memory echoed through Rey: the sound of an igniting lightsaber, a gasp of pain from Han Solo. Rey quickly shook her head to clear the memory.

"It seemed easy for you," Rey said, trying to keep her tone far from accusatory. Because she knew that the why was more complicated that she had known. But the how— how could he so easy kill someone he loved, how could he tell himself it was okay, how could he sleep at night— was what she had yet to wrap her head around.

"You know that isn't true," Ben said, and Rey reached out into the Force, into whatever connected them, and felt the honest pain rippling off of Ben. She had always felt his conflict and suffering, but that was different. That wasn't a projection of Light and Dark, that was human and real.

"Then why did you do it?" Rey asked, and Ben looked up into the sky. She swore that she could see constellations reflected in his eyes.

"I wish I hadn't," Ben admitted, almost silent against the noise of the ocean. "I wish I could undo what I did to my father. And I almost did the same to my mother, but I couldn't. Not again."

"Then why go after Luke?" Rey asked, not as a Supreme Leader or a Resistance fighter, but as herself.

"It needs to be done. And that outweighs what we would like to do, and most of the time leads to everyone getting hurt," Ben said, adding a slight shrug at his words.

Rey looked at Ben, and he was far from the Ben she had seen before. In that moment, she understood what Ben said, and her heart ached about what she needed to do.

Not just to Luke, but to Ben.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath in, smelling the sea around her. The boat rocked, and she leaned into it's motion, allowing herself to relax. Even with her eyes closed, she could feel Ben next to her, a silent companion.

Rey let herself feel, for just a second, that she could get used to this life. She could settle in to become a Supreme Leader without an act and change the Galaxy in her position instead of waging a war. She could leave behind her mission of hurting Ben.

It was tempting, especially on the sea, under a blanket of stars, beside Ben. Because, as much as she didn't want to admit it, Ben was involved in her hypothetical rule. She didn't dwell too on it for too long.

But, she could see it, clear as day, as if the Force decided to show her a possible future:

Rey and Ben were in the throne room aboard the Supremacy. The room wasn't restored to its original red, and instead the viewing glass had been allowed to remain uncovered. Between Ben and Rey, there seemed to be a balance. In fact, there was a balance in the Galaxy. Isn't that what Ben had promised? No Jedi, no Sith, just balance, brought on by the two of them.

But Rey knew, that even in this vision, there was a war happening, and her friends were in danger.

When she opened her eyes, Rey reoriented herself to where she was in the Galaxy. She had a mission. And that mission had no room for an image of her and Ben on Snoke's dais as they ruled the Galaxy together.

"Okay," Rey said, the steadiness in her own voice surprising her. "Let's do this."

They made their plan. They'd fly to Ahch-To at sunset the next day and effectively end the Jedi. Rey made Ben swear that there would be minimal casualties, and he reminded her that this was just as much her mission as his. She was in control.

That didn't make her feel better.

When they returned to the mansion, Ben pulled up a comm to Hux, and the general answered looking like he just woken up.

Rey wanted to laugh in his face, but instead she settled for a cool raise of her eyebrow.

"Supreme Leaders," Hux said, not even bothering to hide his contempt.

"We will proceeding with your suggested mission," Rey said, and she swore that Hux oozed pure evil. A grin, victorious and awful, slowly spread across his face, and she found herself completely siding with Ben about his hatred of this man.

"Wonderful," Hux said, and Rey wondered how he could still appear as a monster with half of his hair sticking in the air.

"Be here tomorrow morning to receive orders," Ben said, and before Hux could reply, Ben cut the comm. Rey and Ben said nothing for a moment, and then Ben said, "I like to catch him off guard. It makes him halfway bearable."

"Halfway?" Rey said. Ben rolled his eyes a slight bit.

"Just a tiny fraction," Ben corrected. Rey pointed at him and settled onto the couch.

"I can believe that," Rey said. She laid her head back against the cushion, closed her eyes, and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"We could not have him come tomorrow. We can send orders," Ben said. Rey felt the couch shift under his weight, and she shook her head.

"We won't hear the end of it if we don't let him in," Rey sighed. Ben said nothing, so Rey assumed that he agreed. She opened her eyes and turned her head so she faced him.

"It could be worse," Ben said, and Rey thought to herself that Ben had no idea how right he was.

"How?" Rey asked.

"If Phasma were still alive, we'd deal with her as well," Ben said, and Rey started at him blankly for a moment. The sounded familiar to her, but her time learning about the First Order from the Resistance had been severely limited.

"Phasma?" Rey asked. Ben reached to the table behind them and retrieved a bottle of unfinished wine from the night before. He uncapped it and took a drink directly from the bottle before handing it to Rey.

"She was a Captain in charge of Stormtroopers," Ben said, and Rey took a long drink from the bottle as she remembered who this woman was. Chewie had recounted the tale of Finn forcing her to lower the shields on Starkiller Base. She wondered if news of that treason had been widespread.

"Is she dead?" Rey asked, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. Ben took the bottle from her hand but didn't drink from it right away.

"She wasn't recovered from the Supremacy," Ben said, but Rey knew that there was a very small chance of her survival. She hoped that it wasn't something she'd have to experience. It would be one more thing to worry about.

Ben stared at the bottle in his hand and said nothing. Rey studied him, watching how his eyes didn't move when he thought, but rather focused in a spot. He remained completely still, but it wasn't from tension. Rey felt that he was just thinking, no stressor involved.

"I don't know how I can do this," Ben said, tipping back the bottle once more. Rey wasn't sure if he referred to the mission or the act of leading itself, but the admission caught her off guard regardless.

The first thing Rey thought of was that his insecurity would be to her benefit. After all, it gave her room to step up and take more control.

Then, as Ben finished drinking and let his gaze return to the bottle, Rey pitied him. Here was a man so lonely that he was vulnerable to the woman who would be his greatest downfall.

He didn't know of her impending betrayal, but still.

And then Rey again thought back to that night in the hut. How she had entered sopping wet, freezing, and lonely, only to see Ben sitting calmly and watching her with great concern. They had regarded each other for a moment, Rey drinking in the unfamiliar look in Ben's eyes and Ben trying to figure out what was happening.

"Rey," he had said, a question more than anything, and something inside of her broke. She told him everything and let herself be vulnerable.

Everything had changed then.

So, Rey turned herself on the couch so she fully faced Ben and held out her hand.

"You're not alone," Rey said, and Ben allowed himself a soft smile as he pressed his fingers to her's.

That time, there was no vision, no fleeting glance into the future for Rey to latch onto— just the feeling of Ben's hand against her own. Pure connection.

There was, though, a shift in the air, a tension. Rey felt it, the feeling of drawing closer to the unknown. She had felt it all her life scavenging on Jakku, when she would come close to locked doors that could hold unseen dangers or countless treasures. The only way to tell was by opening the door.

Rey locked eyes with Ben, and she knew he felt it, too. Their hands remained steady against each other.

She knew they were on the edge of a precipice, and that they very well could jump off.

Rey pulled back her hand, not too quickly, and stood up.

"It's been a long day," Rey said, trying to maintain a normal level to her voice. She smiled at Ben (and mentally kicked herself for doing something so out of character), and added, "Thank you for the boat ride. It was wonderful. Let's meet in the morning before Hux arrives."

Everything she said came out too fast for her liking, and before Ben could respond, Rey retreated to her room and closed the door behind her. She stood in front of it for a moment before crossing to her bed, sitting down, and burying her face in her hands.

That was not part of the plan. It was a simple three-step plan, and whatever that had been was certainly not a step in it. She groaned and reached out in the Force. She felt Ben still sitting on the couch, completely confused.

She thought to herself that they both felt that, too.

Rey kicked off her boots, curled under the blanket, and spent the night barely sleeping. The entire time, she tried to pinpoint what had happened, what had shifted for a moment on the couch.

Of course, she knew what happened, what could have happened. Before she could stop the thought, she wondered if that could have happened on Ahch-To if Luke hadn't blown away the hut.

If she focused, Rey could still feel where Ben's hand had been— a phantom touch through the night.

By the time the servants came to wake her, she had slept for maybe two hours. It wasn't a problem; she had sometimes gone for days without sleep on Jakku.

That morning, after she bathed, she asked for the servants to bring her clothes that weren't so militant. They brought back black leggings, a sleeveless black top, and low black boots. Rey supposed that the First Order was dedicated to their aesthetic, at least. Again, she dressed herself and slipped the First Order coat over her shoulders.

Just like the morning before, Ben sat on the couch, drinking caf. Rey almost asked if he had moved since she'd last seen him, but decided against it when she realized that it would mean bringing up that moment between them.

"You don't strike me as a morning person," Rey said before noticing a plate set out for her on the table. She could either sit on the floor or the couch, and the couch looked far more inviting than the floor. So, Rey steeled herself and took a spot on the couch that she realized was becoming Her Spot.

"I'm not," Ben said in complete seriousness. He took a sip of caf, and Rey could see amusement in his eyes.

So, they were going to be normal, Rey thought with some relief.

"How long until the meeting?" Rey asked, beginning to eat.

"Too soon," Ben said. "Maybe a half an hour."

Rey didn't want to waste time, so ate quickly and chugged her mug of caf. It was disgusting when drank quickly, and she made a face.

She and Ben didn't say a word to each other, but their silence wasn't awkward. If anything, it felt comfortable. Rey didn't feel like she needed to say anything, and apparently, neither did Ben. They finished their food in silence and took a moment to compose themselves before leaving their suite.

"Hux will be there with his lieutenants and admirals," Ben said as he wiped his mouth. Rey nodded and pushed her hair behind her shoulders.

"We won't need most of them," Rey said. "This is going to be a small mission."

"For a mission like this," Ben sighed, "they all want to be part of the planning." Rey allowed herself to groan loudly before schooling her face into an expressionless mask.

Supreme Leaders Rey and Ren stalked through the mansion to the designated war room.

Everyone stood when they entered. Hux was the only person that Rey recognized, and a gleam in his eyes let her know that he was still gloating that this mission was happening in the first place. They glared at each other from across as large table as all the other First Order higher-ups offered greetings to Rey and Ben. Rey noted that about a dozen Stormtroopers lined the walls of the chamber, all standing at attention.

"Supreme Leaders," Hux began, breaking eye contact with Rey. She claimed a small victory in that he looked away first. "Have you had time to discuss the mission to eliminate Luke Skywalker?"

"We have," Ben said, and Rey stepped forward to the ornate table, admiring how it glittered with a map of the Galaxy. When Rey tapped it out of curiosity, it zoomed close to the systems in the area below her hand.

Rey would have spent hours taking apart the table to see how it worked.

"He's been hiding on Ahch-To for the past decade," Rey said. She was unsure of how to zoom out from the random system she had selected so she let her hand hover for a second while she considered the judgement she'd bear if she couldn't figure it out.

"I'm not familiar," Hux said, and Rey rolled her eyes.

"Of course you're not, General. It's in the Unknown Regions," Rey said, openly annoyed. She looked up and Hux looked particularly murderous. Ben appeared to her left and tapped on the table himself, and again, she swore he looked amused.

Ben refocused the table in the Unknown Regions, and Rey took over from there, adjusting and repositioning until Ahch-To was selected and glowing. The personnel around the room looked on with great interest.

"It's a water planet, covered in ocean with small islands appearing throughout," Rey said, and several people took notes. Rey felt like squirming with how much information she was giving away, but it was necessary.

Somehow, this was going to work out. One way or another, this bloody mission was going to help her plan.

"Where would we find Skywalker?" Hux asked.

"One of the main islands. I remember how I got there," Rey said, and there seemed to be a challenge in Hux's eyes. As if he were asking her if she would really lead them to Luke Skywalker. Ben moved on in the discussion, not bothering with Hux.

"We agreed that a small squad would be best," Ben said.

"This is Luke Skywalker," Hux said, insulted. The man directly to his left looked like he also wanted to object, but thought better of it.

"Both Supreme Leader Rey and myself have bested Skywalker in combat," Ben said sharply.

"He's an old man. I was the first face he'd seen in a decade. I doubt he poses a threat large enough that we'd need to take more than twenty Stormtroopers," Rey said, and Hux barely held back a snarl.

"Twenty troops. You only want twenty troops to go with you to take down the last Jedi," Hux said, very much struggling to keep his temper in check. Rey smirked and decided to put a half-formed plan in action.

"Twenty troops is all I trust, General, after learning about how Captain Phasma so readily sacrificed Starkiller Base to save her own skin," Rey said, and her words at the effect she desired. The higher-ups murmured among themselves and Hux flushed scarlet. There was no way to tell how the Stormtroopers reacted, but Rey hoped news spread between them and other squads.

"Supreme Leader, I have no idea what you're talking about," Hux said.

"No? You didn't know about her letting down the shields on the Base so that the Resistance wouldn't harm her?" Rey said, her voice a mix between harsh and taunting. This was genuinely a plan, but she did feel a certain joy at Hux's outrage.

"I say we attack today," Ben abruptly said, and Rey barely stopped herself from turning to him in confusion.

"Today?" Hux repeated.

"Yes," Ben said. "This will be a short, clean strike. We will require minimal transportation as it will only be the Supreme leaders, Stormtroopers, and you, General."

Rey was not prepared for the mission. Sure, they would have time in hyperspace for her to find some sort of peace, but she had expected time in Cantonica to do so as well. She glanced at Ben and couldn't help but let a note of her betrayal show in her eyes. Ben's face twitched, and Rey wasn't able to decipher it.

"Yes…yes…this is perfect," Hux said, gesturing for admirals to come closer and chattering about what ship to take and which squad of Stormtroopers to use.

"Today it is," Rey said, holding her hands flat on the table so they wouldn't shake.

* * *

A/N: Instead of a life update from me, here's one from everyone's favorite editor Kat: 'I a have a drawer at my boyfriend's place now. Also, sidenote, most of the delays is me being too slow reading the chapters. It's about 50% my laziness, and 50% Suzy. Alright, I'm out. I love ya.'


	8. The Island

Ben and Rey waited in a private cabin aboard the _Comet_ as they travelled at Lightspeed. Once Rey had assisted in punching in the coordinates to Ahch-To and the ship made the jump, she and Ben wordlessly retreated to their cabin. Ben leaned against the viewing glass and sat at a nearby chair. For a while, they said nothing. Stress rolled off of Rey in waves as she wrapped both of her arms in black bands similar to her previous outfits. There was something methodical about the process that Ben couldn't help but stare at.

Rey finished wrapping one arm and flexed her hand to make sure that the band wouldn't slip, and Ben glanced at her hand, remembering how she had pressed it to his own _twice_.

He hadn't said anything about the previous night. There were more important things to think about than his feelings.

Ben wasn't proud that he had put Rey in the position they were in. But, it was what they had to do. It was for the Galaxy.

Without Luke they could usher in a new era of the Force. One without Jedi or Sith, Light or Dark. One that truly was balanced.

Rey was midway through wrapping her other arm when she looked up at Ben.

"I don't want this to be bloody," Rey said firmly.

"Then it won't be," Ben said. Rey looked grim as she focused again on her band.

"That just isn't true," Rey said. Ben pictured them arriving on the island and storming the hut Rey would identify as Luke's. He imagined dragging the old man out into the sunlight, forcing him to his knees, and making it all quick and painless. No blood from a lightsaber and no sorrow from pleading.

But, of course, Ben knew Rey was right. He knew that Luke Skywalker would fight tooth and nail to the end, never surrendering, always trying to show how brave he was. Ben knew that Luke would incapacitate every Stormtrooper present and take Rey and Ben at the same time before he ever peacefully accepted his execution.

"We can try to make it as quick as possible," Ben offered, looking down at Rey. She nodded and finished wrapping her other arm.

"Trying is different than doing," Rey said, and a memory came to Ben. It was at the Luke's school, with all of his students gathered around a fire. Luke was retelling the story of his training with Yoda.

"He said to me, 'do or do not, there is no try'," Luke recalled, and that hit a nerve in young Ben Solo. The way that the Jedi saw no room for error, that everything was either a success or a failure. Ben had never thought of himself as either option, but rather something in the middle.

"Trying is all I can offer," Ben said to Rey, who pressed her lips into a hard line and nodded. Somehow, Ben knew that she understood.

Rey slid out of the chair and onto the floor, where she crossed her legs and laid her palms on her knees.

"Do you wanna meditate?" Rey asked. They would be in hyperspace for at least another hour, so he lowered himself to the ground across from Rey. It felt like their communications through the Force all over again.

Rey closed her eyes and took a breath to level herself, and, after a moment, Ben followed her lead.

Sitting there, breathing, Ben could feel every being on the ship. He could feel the twenty Stormtroopers— their minds sharp and focused. There was the pilot, who had let his attention start to drift during the long journey in Lightspeed. He felt Hux, who seemed to already glow with victory. And Rey, sitting across from him, felt tight with anxiety but level-headed still. Her mind was expanding, the same as his, and he felt her conscience next to his own in the Force.

It had been a while since Ben meditated. He had to admit that it was nice. And it helped calm him.

Prior to that night in the hut, he hadn't seen his uncle in a decade. The last memory he had of Luke Skywalker was of him holding a lightsaber over Ben's sleeping form. So, admittedly, the fact that he would see and confront his uncle so many years later did leave him feeling high strung.

They stayed like that for some time, breathing and feeling the connection to everyone on the ship. If they weren't traveling through hyperspace, Ben would have been able to feel life in passing ships and nearby planets.

When Ben felt the ship leave hyperspace, he began preparing himself. He checked that his lightsaber was secured to his belt and collected his cloak. Rey rose from the floor and did the same, but regarded the blue planet outside the viewing glass with some apprehension.

"This is all yours," Ben said, and Rey nodded and let her face morph into what Ben had realized was her Supreme Leader mask.

Outside of the room, Hux commanded the pilots about the landing sequence, and Rey supplied the location of the specific island they were looking for. Stormtroopers fell into line near the exit, standing perfectly still as the ship came closer and closer to Ahch-To.

Hux was grinning and radiating pride. Ben felt like he was being wound tighter and tighter, ready to be set loose as soon as the ship landed.

The island drew closer, and Ben could see the stone huts making up a small village. Rey had been in one the night Ben had been transported onto the island.

Luke was currently inside of one.

Ben exhaled and reached into the Force to feel his uncles presence, but found nothing. It was the same as the past decade. Considering how close they were, Ben thought that he'd be able to feel Luke. It was almost as if Luke wasn't there.

Rey was already explaining before Ben could voice his concern.

"He's cut himself off from the Force," Rey said in a flat voice. "I realized it when I was training. I couldn't feel him at all and he was right next to me."

Ben hummed in understanding. How far his mighty uncle had fallen. The last Jedi in the Galaxy, not even connected to the Force.

Pathetic.

The ship barely moved as they touched down, and as Ben straightened his spine, he saw Rey fidgeting with the lightsaber at her hip.

This needed to be quick, for her sake.

The doors opened, and the Stormtroopers marched out. They had landed the ship right next to the stone huts, so when Ben and Rey exited the ship, they were able to see the strange lifeforms flee their huts, and hear their distressed yelling.

"Caretakers," Rey said. "Luke said they take care of the island and the temple." She paused before adding, "They don't like me."

Ben held back a snort at Rey's commentary. Even though she was stressed and had assumed the air of a cold Supreme Leader, Rey let one side of her mouth twitch into a half grin.

The pair stalked closer to the huts, where the Stormtroopers had rounded up the Caretakers in the center of the village. They were shrieking in a language unknown to Ben, and their shrieks turned from frightened to enraged at the sight of Rey. Some pointed fingers at her while others made what Ben could only assume were rude gestures. A few cowered behind each other, scrambling to make themselves as small as possible in Rey's presence.

Ben assumed that if this Caretakers had lived on the island and cared for the Jedi temple for as long as Luke said they had, they were most likely Force sensitive. Which meant that they must have been able to feel a shift in Rey. And that they must know that Ben was a dangerous individual.

Rey regarded the Caretakers for a moment before marching in the direction of a hut not yet touched by the Stormtroopers. Ben followed close behind her, his heart racing as he drew closer and closer to the door.

He imagined Luke sitting behind that door, waiting for them, knowing his doom was drawing near; that Ben would finally become the monster Luke always feared he would be; that his death would come from the hands of his own student, his last hope.

Rey glanced to her left, and Ben noticed a pile of stones laying haphazardly. He remembered Luke breaking apart Rey's hut in his rage, just before Ben was alone again in his suite. The warmth of the fire had been ripped away so harshly that night, and Rey had disappeared before his eyes.

Not now.

They walked past the pile rocks and arrived at Luke's door. Rey took a deep breath, and Ben curled his hands into fists. He wasn't shaking. He wasn't nervous. This was the endpoint of ten years of planning and hunting.

Rey kicked in the door, and when Ben entered after her, he felt like he'd been punched in the gut.

The hut was empty. Completely empty. There was no sign that anyone had ever lived inside.

Rey and Ben stood shoulder to shoulder in total silence, letting the realization sink in. In spite of the waves crashing in the distance and the screams of the guardians, Ben felt that the world had gone completely silent.

Luke Skywalker wasn't there. The adrenaline Ben had felt running through is veins disappeared rapidly. He looked down at Rey who was standing still, barely breathing.

He couldn't help but think that she had set them up.

Because of course she would.

The small squad of Stormtroopers. Hux and Ben, the only two people in the First Order as powerful as her stuck on an island with no one else. Rey could handle all of them. She could end all of them. She could seize the throne and tell everyone that someone else had executed everyone.

After all, it's what Ben would have done.

Rey sucked in a shaking breath and turned around. She shoved past Ben out of the hut. Ben's heart was racing, and he took his lightsaber into his hand.

"Where is he?" Hux asked Rey. She bumped into his shoulder as she stormed past him and up to the Caretakers, who shrunk away from her. Ben all but jogged to catch up to her. With a shock he watched as she activated her own lightsaber. The Caretakers made sounds of distress.

"Where is Luke?" Rey asked. None of the Caretakers responded in a way Ben could understand, and he doubted Rey could either. She pointed her blade at one of the Caretakers.

Hux arrived next to Ben and watched the scene unfold.

"Is he in the temple, yes or no?" Rey asked, and the Caretaker shook their head.

Ben should be angrier, he realized. He should be the one pointing the blade at an innocent Caretaker. He should be the one raging. Rey should be calming him down and preventing bloodshed.

"Is Luke Skywalker on this island?" Rey asked, edging her blade closer to the Caretaker, who continued to shake their head.

"They're telling the truth," Ben said. He felt in the Force the naked fear resulting in the truth.

Luke was gone. He had left before they arrived.

Hux looked like he was going to slaughter everyone on the island himself. He instantly went white with rage.

"Search the rest of the island," Hux yelled to the Stormtroopers, who scattered. Several began running up the long path to what Ben assumed was the temple. Others began down the slopes.

Ben felt like he was in a daze. His first mission— his _most important_ mission— was a failure.

Rey lowered her blade a fraction and turned over her shoulder to look at Ben. Her face was unreadable. Before they could share a meaningful look or say anything, her eyes darted to Hux and his rage, and there was a long pause where Ben sensed an entire conversation happening. It was almost a challenge. Ben watched as something like pain ripped off of Rey and through the Force.

She turned back to the Caretakers, and Ben wanted to tell her that she didn't need to do anything she'd regret.

She was in charge. He'd promised her that.

Ben didn't see Rey shake once as she swung the blade in a wide arc and cut down the Caretaker. The screams of the others pierced the air, but Rey let them be. She turned back to Ben and Hux, her cloak snapping in the wind. There was something vacant about her as she started at Hux. She retreated back to the ship without saying anything to anyone.

Hux resumed ordering Stormtroopers and Ben combed through the island himself. Luke was nowhere to be found, and with every place he looked, Ben became more and more enraged.

He had lost Luke fucking Skywalker.

He had failed.

Hux was fuming as they boarded the ship. Ben ignored his ranting about this being an embarrassment of a mission and retreated to the cabin, shutting the door behind him.

Rey sat on the floor with her back to the wall, her arms bare and the cloak she had worn ripped to shreds around her. Ben couldn't tell if she had been crying before, but she wasn't when he approached her.

There was too much to say. So, before either of them could speak, Ben drew his own lightsaber, ignited it, and hacked the only table in the room into pieces. He let all of his anger and disappointment flow out into his blade.

No Luke Skywalker. No Luke meant no end to the Resistance. No end to the Resistance meant he and Rey couldn't rule in peace. No ruling in peace meant no balance.

And if he could find that balance, then what was everything for?

When he finished destroying the table, he turned back to Rey. There was no judgement on her face. She looked at him at his ugliest and refused to avert her gaze. Ben turned off his blade and sat next to her, dropping his head into his hands. Barely a moment after he sat down, Rey leaned her head onto his shoulder.

They were both so tired. Ben needed her. Maybe she needed him. He couldn't know for sure, but he felt that they were equally supporting each other right then.

He didn't know if he was asking Rey, the Force, or himself when he wondered aloud, "Where the hell is Luke Skywalker?"


	9. Skywalker

"Where the hell have you been?" Leia asked her brother.

Luke Skywalker stood in the middle of her suite, completely silent. A lesser man would have shuffled his feet or looked to the ground, but not Luke. He looked at his sister with weary yet loving eyes.

Leia stood opposite her brother, glaring at him with her intensity that has become famed throughout the Galaxy. Her hands were folded neatly over the top of her cane, and she stood perfectly still, daring her brother to move first.

Along the wall stood Poe, Finn, Rose, and Chewbacca. They all remained silent. All of them except Chewbacca were staring at Luke in wonder. Leia supposed that it wasn't every day you met a living legend. Poe's mouth practically hung open, and Rose couldn't stop fiddling with her necklace.

Chewbacca watched this interaction like a sporting event, head whipping back and forth to listen to Leia and check Luke's reaction. The Wookie had missed Luke as much as Leia did, but Chewie's personality meant that he enjoyed watching Luke get chewed out.

"I was on Ahch-To," Luke said. Leia rolled her eyes.

"We know that. That's why we sent Chewie to pick you up and Rey to find you," Leia said.

"Neither of them were welcome," Luke said.

"Rey certainly felt that way," Leia said. Luke made a face.

"What happened with Rey? Chewie refused to tell me anything," Luke said, and Finn made a noise at the back of his throat. Leia stared at her brother, frowning slightly.

"You really have no idea?" Leia said.

"I became untraceable for a reason. I don't want to be involved in the Galaxy's affairs," Luke said.

"You should be, because both of your padawans are the Supreme Leaders," Leia snapped. The room collectively took a sharp breath. Luke looked physically ill.

"She…she what?" Luke asked.

"She left you and went to Ben, and then they killed Snoke and took the throne," Leia said. A beat passed and no one said anything. Luke took several seconds to process the news.

" _What_?" Luke asked, his voice close to shouting.

"All that we know is that Snoke is dead and now those two are in charge," Leia said. "We don't know how they coordinated it or for how long this had been planned."

Luke cursed and rubbed a hand over his face. Leia had never seen him express his frustration like this, but he had changed. She had changed. _Everything_ had changed.

"The night Rey left," Luke said, meeting Leia's eyes with great dread, "I caught her speaking to Ben."

Leia's heart stopped.

"How do you know it was Kylo she was talking to?" Finn asked, his voice surprisingly steady. Luke sighed again and folded his arms over his chest.

"He was there. I saw him. They were reaching out for each other through the Force," Luke said.

Leia was silent. Her face, usually calm and collected, was morphed by pain. She remembered those pictures of Ben and Rey on a boat, looking like they were the only two people in the world.

She had never anticipated something like this would happen. Yes, she had worked over dozens of theories about why Rey and Ben stole their throne, but she had never foreseen one like this. One where Rey and Ben had been working together while Rey trained under Luke. One where Rey and Ben used the Resistance as a stepping stone for their power grab.

"You must have seen incorrectly," Finn said, and Leia knew that behind his steady voice, he was shaken.

"I'll never forget what I saw. I managed to end whatever connection they had and Ben disappeared, but then Rey and I fought," Luke said.

"And then she left," Leia said, and Luke nodded.

"She insisted there was still good left in him," Luke said. He sounded tired. Leia could hear her own voice saying the same thing, insisting it throughout the years

"Evidently, that doesn't matter anymore. There might not have been any good left in Rey," Leia said.

"General," Poe said, his voice gentle. He had stepped closer to Finn, who looked like he had been punched. Rose's lips were pursed, as if she were holding back several thoughts at once.

The time for sympathy was over.

"Luke, we had to get you. We knew that Ben would come for you next," Leia said.

"You couldn't have known that," Luke said, and Leia made a face as she walked to the table in the center of the room. She rested her hand over Tattooine and turned to her brother.

"My son is no strategist. He's spent years looking for you and now has Rey to lead him there," Leia said.

"She wouldn't do that," Luke said.

"You obviously have no idea what she would and wouldn't do," Leia snapped. Luke fell silent.

"She tricked all of us, Luke," Rose said. She had been completely silent, but her voice was steadier than Leia would have expected. All attention in the room shifted to Rose, and she seemed to shy away for a moment before standing straighter.

"We all believed in her," Rose said. "And we didn't see this coming. It's no one's fault but her's."

Finn sighed, and his shoulders dropped. The tension left the room, but it was replaced with a gloom strong enough to end rebellions. Leia needed to do damage control.

"I need to speak to my brother alone," Leia said. Everyone thought better than to argue with Leia, and Rose and Finn quickly cleared the room, with Finn dragging Poe by the arm. Chewie cast Leia a look that plainly asked her to not kill her brother and followed the rest out.

The door clicked shut and Leia sighed.

"You do that a lot these days," Luke commented.

"You're one of the reasons I do it," Leia said. Leia realized that it was an immature thing to say, but she didn't feel like being the mature one.

"I never wanted any of this," Luke said, and Leia wasn't sure what he was referring to. Being taken from Ahch-To? HIs students turning against everything he taught? Becoming a Jedi in the first place?

"It's too late for that," Leia said, and she pulled out a seat at the star table and sat down. Luke took the one across from her. It didn't escape Leia that he had unintentionally taken the seat closest to Tatooine. There was silence as Luke contemplated what to say next.

Leia examined her brother closely, taking in his beard and tired face. He had aged, same as Leia, but his hair had gone further gray then hers. His hair was long and wild, and Leia thought of Luke when they had first met with his boyish hairstyle. Leia's hair was different, too, but when was it not?

"You saw them talking?" Leia asked, and Luke looked troubled.

"By the time I saw them, the Force had physically connected them," Luke said.

"Physically?" Leia asked.

"They were touching hands, and it was like that had pulled Ben through the galaxy to sit right across from her," Luke said.

"You don't think…?" Leia began, but stopped herself from finishing the question. Luke met her eyes and looked like he wanted to stop himself from answering.

"I'm not sure, but…" Luke started.

"But what?"

"But…but I think that the fact they're sharing a throne says enough," Luke sighed. Leia noticed the holo left by Connix, and she knew she'd have to fill in her brother just the same as she'd filled in Lysa just hours before.

Wordlessly, Leia turned on the holo and navigated to the images of Rey and Ben on the ship at sea. Luke's face had always betrayed his emotions, and this was no exception. He looked like he had been hit and asked Leia to take the images down.

The twins sat without speaking for a few seconds as Luke struggled to find something to say. Leia had suspected there was something between Rey and Ben before, but the news of them speaking? Of them being connected somehow?

"How were they able to speak?" Leia asked. "Whenever we've connected through the Force it's only our voices."

"I don't know," Luke said. "I know that the Jedi had a technique to send their physical form across the Galaxy, but it was a suicide move. None of them survived."

Leia noticed that her brother separated himself from the Jedi even when speaking. It broke her heart how far he had fallen.

"Ben is very much alive," Leia said, and she couldn't tell if she said it with relief or disappointment.

Luke didn't reply, instead tracing the planets on the table with one of his mechanical fingers. The artificial skin had weathered away, and Leia stared in fascination as gears and wires interacted.

"Rey told me about Han," Luke said. Leia's throat tightened, so she kept quiet to keep her emotions under control. She had let herself mourn Han two nights before, and in a time of war she could only let herself grieve for so long. She had to keep moving. She couldn't look back on those she would have to leave behind.

"It's my fault, Leia," Luke said. "I'm the reason Ben ran to Snoke, and that means I'm the reason why he killed Han."

"No."

"No?" Luke said, taken aback.

"Ben killed Han because there's a war in him that's bigger than either of us," Leia said.

"He killed Han because Snoke manipulated him into it," Luke said.

"Well, Snoke isn't in the picture and now Ben's on the throne," Leia said. She rubbed her hand across her face. "I wanted to believe that it was all Snoke. I didn't want to imagine that someone from our own family could do what Ben has done."

"Leia, look at our family history. Maybe Ben was always meant to do something like this," Luke said.

"We never did anything this bad," Leia countered.

"You went into politics," Luke said, and Leia couldn't help but laugh. Luke smiled, and Leia noted that it took a few years off of him.

"I missed you," Leia admitted, and Luke reached his flesh hand across the table. Leia took it and smiled at her brother.

"I missed you, too. And I'm sorry," Luke said.

"For calling me a politician?"

"For leaving when you needed me."

Leia's smile became sad, and she shrugged.

"You're here now. And now we can start to fix all of this."

"How do you plan on doing that? I don't mean to insult your operation, but this can't beat the First Order," Luke said, troubled. Leia turned her head toward the ceiling.

"Captain Antilles, would you mind joining me and my brother in my suite?" Leia asked. Lisa's response came seconds later.

"I'm on my way, General."

"'Antilles'?" Luke said, his face showing great interest.

"Wedge's great niece," Leia said.

"So we aren't the only family who has to keep fighting wars."

"I really wish we were."

Lysa entered moments later, looking downright delighted to see Luke. Leia did the math and realized that by the time Lysa was born, Luke had already run away with his students.

"Master Skywalker, it's an honor," Lysa said, holding out her hand in greeting. Luke took it somewhat awkwardly.

"You don't need to call me that," Luke said. Lysa's smile didn't falter for a moment as she corrected herself and took a seat.

"Captain, how many ships are at your disposal?" Leia asked.

"The ship we flew in, the _Brilliance_ , is the ship I command directly. But the allied generals have dozens ready for your use," Lysa said without hesitation. Leia nodded and looked to her brother.

"That's very generous," Luke said, carefully. "But that's hardly a whole fleet."

"Well, in about two weeks, there's a meeting for the leaders of all Cornelian areas. They're going to discuss how involved the entire planet should be in this war," Lysa said. "The allied generals are involved regardless, but they're going to try and convince the rest of the planet."

"What are the chances that would happen, though?" Luke said. "No one wants to be involved in war."

"You have a point. But, I think that Corellia as a whole is against the First Order and willing to go to war over it. And I think you two could be the factor that sways everyone," Lysa said. Leia tapped her cane against the floor.

"You want us to speak in front of your leaders," Leia said. Not a question. She had done it so many times before, and she had come to peace with the fact that it was glorified begging. It was never her favorite part of raising an army (though, she'd very much like to not ever _have_ to raise an army at all), but it was a necessary evil.

"I can't do that," Luke said, and it stunned Leia how quickly he could become a farm boy from Tatooine again.

"With all due respect, Luke, you are the last Jedi. The whole galaxy has awaited your return, and if you appear before the world leaders, you can ensure that they pledge their support to stop the First Order," Lysa said.

"I'm not some prop to use so people can get dragged into wars," Luke said, agitated.

"This is part of diplomacy," Leia said. "Sometimes we have to swallow our pride and do something we don't want to."

"It's not like we're just going to put you in a room for everyone to admire," Lysa said. "You will get to speak for the first time since you went into hiding."

"I went into hiding so I wouldn't have to speak," Luke said.

"I can do all the talking. You just need to come with me," Leia said.

"Again," Luke said, with a hand on his chest, "I'm not a prop."

Leia frowned. She knew it would be difficult to work with Luke (though, that had always been the case, all the way back to Luke and Han trying to rescue her from the Death Star), but she didn't realize he wouldn't even want to make an appearance.

"Right now, the First Order is stronger than ever, with two Supreme Leaders. It looks like it's our fault," Leia said, and Luke looked away from her.

"That's not—" Lysa began, but a look from Leia cut her off.

"This war started with our family, so it's only right that we try to end it," Leia said.

"I don't want to be involved anymore," Luke said, and Leia remembered that there were several times that Han had called Luke a brat. Leia wished he was sitting with them so he could say it again.

"You got to do that for a decade, and look what happened," Leia said, her patience wearing thin. "You want to fix this? You want to make things right?"

Luke didn't answer, but Leia could tell from his silence that he wanted to say 'yes'.

"This is how you start. You tell Corellia that Luke and Leia are alive, well, and together again. And then, we finally end this war."

Luke remained silent, and Leia tried to tell herself that he was silent from ten years of not seeing another person instead of her brother sulking. Lysa was holding her breath, waiting in suspense to learn whether or not Luke was the man her family had made him out to be.

And then, Luke Skywalker looked at his sister and nodded.

* * *

A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry to keep y'all waiting. I moved across the state and started university, so it was a bit of an adjustment. Thank you all for your patience and kind comments. Katrina, as usual, it my number one editor and ride or die.


	10. Implication

Rey didn't feel quite like herself. Ever since the Island, she had been silent.

The Caretaker hadn't been Rey's first kill, and she knew it wouldn't be her last. Jakku was a lawless planet, and she had killed to survive for years. Then, there were the guards she and Ben had dueled. She hadn't felt any guilt when she killed them— it was either them or her and Ben.

But the look of horror on the Caretaker's face as Rey raised her lightsaber was impossible to forget.

Rey hadn't been able to sleep the night after.

Ben, at least, had kept her company. She had suspected that Ben didn't sleep too much, but he had confirmed it by staying up late into the night with her.

He was troubled. Rey felt it before he even told her. He wasn't able to kill Luke, and it seemed to trouble him on a deeper level then just 'Supreme Leader Ren couldn't find the last Jedi'. She felt his conflict on the _Comet_ as they returned to Cantonica. The conflict within him had grown from a division into a canyon.

Stirring the conflict had been part Rey's plan. It had been in step two of her three part plan: 'convincing Ben of the Light he already carried'. She just wished that Ben didn't look so pained the next day as he stared at the wall and asked her what they do next.

"I don't know," Rey admitted. While she had a simple plan to save Ben Solo, she didn't have a plan to stop the First Order or at least stall.

They were sitting on the couch in their suite. Their breakfast sat untouched in front of them. At some point, Ben had given Rey his long coat to cover her legs like a blanket, as they had left the window open to let a cool morning breeze roll in.

"You know that because our first mission was a failure, Hux is expecting us to be failures in our rule," Ben said flatly. Rey was stunned by his frankness.

"I don't care what he thinks," Rey said, and Ben gave a slight nod.

"Neither do I."

"I could've guessed that," Rey said, but Ben's face didn't change. She'd meant it to be a joke, hoping Ben would give her a slight smile.

Rey was too tired to unpack why she wanted to watch him smile. It would just be a mess if she tried.

"Where could he have gone?" Ben asked.

"There's an entire galaxy that he knows better than us. He could be anywhere," Rey said, and she had to keep all hope out of her voice. Ben frowned deeper, and Rey sighed, adjusting her position on the couch to lie down with her legs over Ben's lap.

It was bold.

She felt him tense as she got comfortable.

Rey closed her eyes, and in spite of the fact she was running on no sleep, she didn't begin to drift off. She saw the Caretaker again.

"You're hurting," Ben said.

"So are you," Rey said.

"Maybe Hux is right about us," Ben said. Rey hummed a response, and Ben rested his hands on her shins. She felt the hesitation in his touch and Rey wondered if maybe this was part of her plan.

Maybe she was just tired.

"Hux is a cruel bastard," Rey said, not opening her eyes.

The Caretaker. Eyes wide. Hands moving up to block the Lightsaber.

"Rey." It still shocked her how softly he could say her name. She didn't reply. The other Caretakers were screaming. They had trusted her.

"We don't have to have a plan now, but we need one," Ben said.

"I know," Rey said. "I know."

She felt Ben rub a circle onto her shin with his thumb. Rey finally started to feel tired.

"I won't tell Hux if you get some rest," Ben said, a little awkward. Rey felt that he was trying.

Trying to be nice. Trying to soothe her. Trying to help her work through the pain.

It was odd, Rey thought as she drifted off. Wasn't that supposed to be her job?

When she awoke, the sun was high in the sky but there were dark clouds rolling in. Rey sat up and Ben's coat slipped down from her shoulders. She looked around the room and found Bed sitting on a nearby chair with his feet kicked up on a table and a holo in his lap.

"I'm thirsty," Rey said drowsily, and as she stretched, Ben went and quietly brought her back a pitcher of water and a glass. "Oh. Thank you."

Ben grunted in response as he returned to his seat and picked up the holo again. Rey poured herself glass of water and tried to smooth down her hair after she drank it all.

"Ava Guyai would like to meet with us sometime soon," Ben said.

"Does 'soon' really mean 'today'?" Rey said, and she could've sworn Ben smiled a little.

"She knows she can't rush Supreme Leaders, so this is her diplomatic way," Ben said. Rey stood up and shrugged on Ben's coat, which was far too large on her. She rolled up the cuffs and figured it must look nice. Everything she'd owned on Jakku had once belonged to someone else, and she always had a way of making anything functional and fitting.

"We should meet her today. No point in making her wait," Rey said. Ben gave her a look that she wasn't able to decipher even as she built a list of Ben's expressions and their meanings.

"What?"

"Are you okay?"

This took her back. No wonder she didn't know that expression, it was one that meant Ben was concerned.

"I can meet with her."

"That wasn't what I asked."

Rey stared at Ben in silence.

"I can feel what you feel," he reminded her. Rey was silent for a second.

"And what am I feeling?"

Ben tossed the holo onto the couch and leaned forward onto his knees.

"Pain," Ben said. "Lots of pain."

"The Caretaker wasn't my first kill—"

"This is deeper than what happened yesterday," Ben cut her off. "Yes, that's the issue at the forefront and the reason you couldn't sleep, but after it comes something else entirely."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Rey lied. Ben's face didn't change, but he did tilt his head every so slightly.

Rey knew he wasn't in her mind and looking for information. She still remembered that feeling— overwhelming pressure, like her head might've split in half from having two people in it. But this was different. Ben wasn't in her mind, but Rey still felt like he was trying to figure her out.

"If you ever feel the need to share," Ben said, shrugging slightly. He stood and briefly retreated to his room for a cloak and boots.

Rey knew she'd never be able to share.

The betrayal would break them both.

Ava requested that Rey and Ben meet her in her office, so Ben instead suggested they meet at the mansion. With a little grin and eye roll, Rey called him a brat, and that had made Ben finally give her a proper smile.

The two of them told Ava to be at the mansion in a half hour, and they found themselves navigating to the meeting room just as they heard her transport landing outside.

"I don't like her," Rey said.

"Of course you don't. She's part of the arms trade. She'd murder us herself for a few extra credits if she'd get away with it," Ben said, looking straight ahead.

"The implication she made, though," Rey said.

"Which one?"

"That it was us," Rey said.

"She thinks that?" Ben asked, surprised. Rey couldn't help but stop in her tracks. Ben walked a few more steps before turning to look at her.

"How did you not catch that?" Rey asked.

"It must've been subtle."

"It wasn't. She said, 'what good fortune that he had an apprentice ready to take over'. She thinks that we had a part in this," Rey said, reminding herself to keep her voice down. Even if she was playing her part well and sounding like she was offended at the thought, she didn't want the idea to be planted in anyone's head.

She wanted to destabilize the First Order, not get herself and Ben killed.

"I was must more focused on her… other implication," Ben said, a note of awkwardness in his voice. He was suddenly incredibly interested in the wall decor.

"What other implication?"

"The one… about you… and me."

"What?"

Rey noticed the faintest blush keeping up Ben's neck, and she thought back to the conversation they'd had with Ava. About Ben being ready to rise to power and how he had an 'equal'….

"Oh."

Ben didn't say anything, just continued focusing on the wall.

Rey was at a loss and suddenly became conscious of the fact she was still wearing Ben's jacket. She'd been putting off unpacking her own feelings over the past several days because this was not the time nor the place to do so, but it seemed that it hadn't stopped the rest of the world from doing it.

It gave Rey a terrible idea. It wouldn't involve her and Ben in any way. But it could hurt whatever was growing between them.

She didn't like that the thought of that made her hesitate.

In the time it was taking her to figure out what to say next, Ben had fixed his gaze back on her. Rey felt something shoot through her and she pushed it to the side.

"Let her talk, then," Rey said, and she kept walking. It took a moment for her to hear Ben begin to follow her, and Rey would be lying if she sad that her heart wasn't beating a little faster now.

They walked silently to the meeting room, where Ava Guyai was waiting along with Hux and a few other First Order officers. They stood and bowed low as Rey and Ben entered. Rey noticed Ava and Hux both look at Ben's coat that Rey wore so comfortably.

"Guyai, to what do we owe the pleasure?" Rey asked, not bothering to pick a random formality. She couldn't make herself to pretend to like this woman.

"Supreme Leaders, I'm simply here to ask for some crucial instructions regarding something that just came up on the _Supremacy_ ," Ava said.

"Okay," Ben said, not moving to take a seat. Rey watched Ava like she was a deadly animal poised to strike. Ava looked at Rey with an unreadable expression, and felt judgement and smugness radiating off of her. The First Order officers, much to their credit, didn't show any outward emotion. Perhaps they'd learned it was safer when dealing with Kylo Ren to just be stoic. Hux, on the other hand, still looked as annoyed as the last time Rey had seen him. She wondered if he had any expression that didn't look vaguely constipated.

"Well, pardon my bluntness, what would you like me to do with the former Supreme Leader's body?"

Rey and Ben didn't say anything for a moment.

"What?" Rey asked.

"The body. It's still in the throne room," Ava said, slowly.

Ben looked at Rey out of the corner of his eye, and Rey quickly tried to remember the events of the past few days.

At no point did Rey or Ben give orders to have Snoke's body removed. They'd forgotten. Accidentally, of course. But Rey saw the look in Ava's eyes that doubted that very much. A few officers murmured to each other, and Hux looked positively enraged.

Perfect.

"Oh," Rey said, feigning embarrassment. She looked to Ben, who looked like he didn't care one bit. Which, of course, he didn't. But Rey wished he at least could follow her lead and make them look incompetent instead of guilty.

"We must've forgotten him in the chaos after the _Supremacy's_ impact," Rey said, remembering her old Jakku act of an embarrassed and clueless girl. It was a quick trick to make other scavengers think she was useless and give her some of their parts out of pity.

She knew the First Order wouldn't pity her, but that was fine. She just needed them to think she and Ben weren't fit for their positions.

"Burn him," Ben said, coldly.

"Supreme Leader, perhaps a public funeral would be better," Hux said, barely keeping the anger out of his voice.

"He spent his reign hidden and secretive. Why would we break that now that he's dead?" Ben said. Rey knew that there was no love between Ben and his former master, but even she had to admit that she was a bit shocked at how openly and brazenly he was disregarding Snoke, especially when she considered the discussion she and Ben had about how Ava already suspected their involvement in Snoke's demise.

"A funeral and military parade with you two could be a display of power," Hux said, almost spitting when he said 'you two'.

"Armitage, do you not remember why the former Supreme Leader was so hidden?" Ben said, his voice a deadly calm. It sounded far more lethal than his blade, and a part of Rey's mind thoroughly enjoyed hearing it.

"No, Supreme Leader."

"It was to ensure that no one would be able to find an opportunity to assassinate him. Are you advocating for myself and the Supreme Leader to put ourselves in a dangerous position?" Ben said, a clear threat ringing through the room.

"Of course not," Hux said, and Rey knew that there was nothing he would love more.

"Good. Then burn the body. Make it discreet."

A strange tension filled the Force. It felt like everyone in the room was collectively holding back from voicing their outrage and distrust. Rey was pleased at how this had played out, and decided that it was time for her and Ben to excuse themselves. They were halfway out the door when Ava called out to them.

"Before you go, Supreme Leaders, I want to invite you to look through the _Supremacy_ yourselves," Ava said. Ben didn't bother to look back.

"I'd like that," Rey said, both out a genuine fascination for the mechanics of such a large ship, but also for an idea she was forming at the opportunity.

"Fantastic. When will you be visiting us?" Ava said.

"Whenever we like," Rey shrugged, and she and Ben left the room. They were silent until they were in the elevator.

"And you called _me_ a brat," Ben said. Rey looked up at Ben, and despite the fact that she was slowly but surely planning their demise, she grinned.

"Is Hux's first name really 'Armitage'?" Rey asked, and Ben let out a huff of air that might've been laughter.

"It's truly unfortunate, isn't it?" Ben said, smirking down at Rey.

"His mother should've taken a page from Leia's book and named him something nice, like 'Ben'," Rey said, and she scanned Ben's face for a reaction.

Leia was the ultimate way to gauge where Ben was in his path back to the Light. After all, he hadn't taken the shot to end her when he so easily could have.

Much to Rey's relief and surprise, Ben's eyes looked soft at the mention of his mother.

"I'll thank the stars that Leia didn't name me something stupid."

Rey took that as progress.


	11. The Pull

Ben spent the rest of the day watching some trashy holo series. Rey sat on her end of the couch with her legs once again in Ben's lap. He didn't push his luck with that, but did admit to himself that he enjoyed the casual intimacy.

He knew that they were wasting time. They should've been planning battle strategies or hunting down Luke or at the very least ordering around Stormtroopers.

Somehow, this fact didn't bother him as much as it should have.

They watched every part in the series through the day and into the night, and Ben was surprised at how much commentary Rey enjoyed throwing at the screen. Ben found himself laughing often, at which point Rey would smile at him, and he'd quickly look back to the screen to avoid a blush creeping onto his cheeks.

Her response earlier to Ava's implication that they were involved didn't give Ben a clear answer, but he had started to think of everything that had happened in the past few days and put together his own answer.

After all, she hadn't looked disgusted at the idea. She hadn't even looked embarrassed. In fact, Ben thought she looked downright smug. It was the same face she'd make whenever her predictions on the obvious plot twist on the holo would come true. He didn't know what that meant, but he swore it meant something.

And invading Rey's mind for the answer wasn't an option.

He'd never do that to her again.

It was nighttime when they finished their holo marathon and Rey hopped up from the couch. She stretched and made a satisfied noise before trying to slip out of Ben's coat.

"You can keep it," Ben said. She didn't even have one arm free.

"It's your coat," Rey said.

"I have more," Ben said, shrugging.

"Why do you have more of the same coat?"

Ben didn't know how to respond to that. It had never occurred to him that it was odd.

"What was it like to grow up on Jakku?" Ben asked. Rey pulled the jacket back over her shoulders.

"Difficult. I didn't have multiple coats," Rey said with a cheeky smile. Ben didn't return it in time and she looked away to the mural on the wall.

"It could've been worse. When I was young, the old women took care of me. Gave me food, shared their parts. And then I got older and didn't have anyone. I was on my own but I was far enough away from everyone that I could sleep at night," Rey said. "If the sky was clear I could lay in the sand and imagine every star I'd like to travel to."

"We could go to them," Ben offered, and Rey looked surprised. Ben had offered her the whole galaxy— he figured there was no reason for her to be shocked.

"I never learned their names," Rey said. "No one ever taught me."

"Were you ever scared?" Ben asked. Rey wrapped his coat tighter around herself.

"Of course. All the time. But I didn't have a choice, it was my life," Rey said.

"I'm glad that it isn't, anymore," Ben said, and Rey smiled a little.

"Me too. I'll see you in the morning."

And she slipped into her room without looking back at Ben. He sat still for a few moments, just in case she opened her door with something else to say. He wished that she did.

He had felt her loneliness before, in that interrogation room on Starkiller Base. And then he had reached into her mind just a few days ago, when they were worlds apart, and he had felt it again.

It was something he knew well.

Ben lay in his bed that night and thought of Rey on Jakku, staring up at the sky.

She was awake before Ben the next morning. When he walked out into their common area, she was sitting cross legged on the floor in front of the mural, directly under the spot where light spilled out from clasped hands. A holo was sitting in front of her, and she was focusing on the projection.

"What is that?" Ben asked. Rey didn't look away from the projection, and Ben crossed to a counter and began brewing caf.

"One of the engines on the _Supremacy_. Ava sent it over a while ago," Rey said, magnifying a tiny detail.

"Can you analyze an engine like that?" Ben asked.

"All tech is the same when you get down to it. I learned everything from the old Star Destroyers on Jakku," Rey said, a little more focused on the projection than Ben. She was quiet, and Ben didn't feel the need to fill that silence.

Ben took a mug of caf and sat on a nearby couch, and Rey's eyes clicked over to him.

"Do you know anything about engines?" Rey asked. Some part of Ben was embarrassed and he focused on his mug.

"I don't. Han never taught me anything besides how to keep the _Falcon_ flying," Ben said. He wished that Han had taught him more so at the very least he could keep up with Rey.

Rey shut down the holo and levitated it over to the table in front of Ben. She leaned back against the wall and looked at him. Her expression was impossible for Ben to understand, but that didn't bother him.

It hadn't even been three weeks and a lot of things didn't seem to bother him anymore.

"I think we should go to the _Supremacy_ tomorrow," Rey said.

"Is there a reason why we wait until tomorrow?" Ben asked.

 _We._ He was calling them a 'we'. At what point had they merged into one unit in his mind?

"Ava mentioned that they're preparing Snoke's body to be burned. Even if we don't want it to be public, we should at least be there," Rey said. Ben made a face of disgust as he drank more caf.

Ben wanted to be done with Snoke already. He thought killing him would've been it, but apparently he still held onto a part of the Force and decided to use it to continue haunting Ben.

"What?" Rey asked, standing up and moving over to the couch, to her spot.

"It's nothing," Ben said, and Rey rolled her eyes.

"Ben."

"I said, it's nothing."

"You're not a good liar," Rey said. "No wonder you needed that hideous helmet."

"It wasn't…hideous. It was intimidating," Ben insisted halfheartedly. Rey didn't say anything but gave him a look that got her point across.

"You can tell me, you know. We're in this together," Rey said, and Ben felt some unknown emotion ripple through the Force. They were sitting how they were just a few nights ago, when Ben had felt a pull toward her. He wondered if they would ever get there again.

Rey was right, though. They were in this together.

"I hate that man," Ben said.

"Right."

Ben understood that she knew that, but didn't fully know the story.

"He's been in my head for as long as I remember. Influencing me. Leia always knew but wasn't sure how to stop it. Even when I trained under Luke, I could hear him beckoning me to him. He promised me glory and a place where I would reach my potential," Ben said.

"So that's the darkness Luke felt building in you," Rey said.

"Yes. And it was all of my worst fears. Snoke had always told me that I'd meet my doom at the hands of someone I…."

"Someone you loved," Rey finished. Ben nodded and looked down into his empty mug.

"I wonder sometimes if maybe things would be different if Snoke had never been in my head," Ben admitted. It was a thought he'd never said aloud before. He'd never had anyone he trusted enough.

Rey grabbed Ben's mug suddenly, set it on the table in front of the couch, and hugged him. Ben's hands hovered for a moment, unsure of where to go, before he wrapped his arms around her back and let her hold him close.

"Let the past die," Rey said. Ben let out half of a laugh.

"Kill it if you have to."

They were silent for a moment while they hugged. Ben felt their connection through the Force become amplified and their hearts beat in sync.

It was overwhelming, it was frightening, but Ben felt drunk every second they let it go on.

He wondered if she felt it too.

Rey settled back on her side when she let go of him, and Ben wished she was back in his arms immediately.

"You can be the one to light his pyre," Rey said.

"I was already the one to kill him."

"Right but now you can imagine you're killing him again," Rey said, and Ben made a face.

"Since when are you so ready to indulge murder fantasies?" Ben asked, and Rey laughed as she got off the couch.

"What's the right thing to wear to a funeral like this?" Rey asked.

"Most people wear their finest black clothes," Ben said.

"So just dress normally."

"One of the advantages of being a Supreme Leader."

True to her word, Rey let him be the one to light the pyre. It was a small ceremony as the sun set over the false ocean. It was Rey, Ben, Hux, and a handful of higher ups for the First Order. The GravStar Corporation had arranged his corpse as best as they could, but his face was still contorted with his tongue sticking out.

Ben hated the smell of burst flesh, but he kept his stomach steady as Snoke caught ablaze. Some part of Ben's mind was loosened as the smoke rose, and Rey bumped her shoulder into his arm. It was as if she knew that some part of Ben was finally disappearing.

Hux, on the other hand, glared at Ben and Rey the entire time. Ben was tempted to glare back, but the feeling of freedom was too much and he couldn't be bothered by anything.

As Snoke turned to ash, Ben felt like he was finally, truly free of Snoke and the hold he had over him.

Ben slept easy that night, after he and Rey had a late dinner as they sat comfortably on their couch.

Rey was close to bouncing off the walls when Ben left him room the next morning.

"Ava is sending a transport so we can go to the _Supremacy_ ," Rey said.

"Right now?"

"Yeah. You can take your caf with you," Rey said, and Ben made a face. Rey's smile radiating in return.

They were in their transport not even a half hour later, and Ben was drinking his caf from a portable mug. No officers had ever made small talk with him, and they seemed less inclined to do so now that he was Supreme Leader, but they knew to not bother him while he was still waking up. Hux had decided to not join them on this trip, and Ben thanked the stars for that small blessing.

Rey's bubbly demeanor had once again been hidden behind the cold mask of Supreme Leader Rey, and Ben was impressed. It seemed that she could do it at a moment's notice. She regarded the Stormtroopers with a cold expression and the officers with something close to disgust.

Much to GravStar's credit, the _Supremacy's_ repairs were coming along well. The chunk of the ship that had been sent adrift was attached once more, though only by metal bridges at the moment. Ava was right, such repairs would take time, but it seemed that she was using it wisely.

When they docked, droids and human workers alive hustled throughout the hangar, hastily working to repair parts of the floor that was open to the floors below.

"How many did Guyai say are working on the repairs?" Rey asked.

"A hundred thousand, Supreme Leader," one of the officers said as he punched in the landing commands.

"A small army," Rey said.

"Larger than the Resistance," Ben said, and Rey's face remained unreadable. Ben knew that some sort of defense has just been put up between them, and he supposed that it was still too soon to take jabs at the group her friends were hiding out with.

Ex-friends.

Ben had never really bothered to ask where she stood with them.

Rey was fascinated with the _Supremacy_ the moment they stepped into the hangar. Supervisors to the repairs rushed over and tried to speak with her, but Rey didn't acknowledge them. She didn't even have on her cold mask, just genuine intrigue at the way the repairs were underway.

"Supreme Leader, it's an honor," a droid said, appearing at Ben's side. It was humanoid, similar to a C3 unit. It had a professional way of speaking, and Ben couldn't help but imagine C3PO in this hanger, panicking about every little thing.

"Have there been any sort of concerns with the repairs?" Ben asked.

"No, sir. Everything has been going as planned."

Ben nodded and walked next to Rey. She was looking up at the ceiling of the hangar, where droids worked at replacing the steel that had been scorched.

He had seen her focus on plenty of occasions, but this was something new. Ben could practically see the scavenger in her mind picking apart the ship. He had been raised aboard ships, but Rey had raised herself inside of ships like this.

"I want to see the third engine," Rey said, not looking away from the ceiling.

"Any reason why?" Ben asked.

"I can explain when we're there," Rey said, looking at the humans and droids watching them from the corner of their eyes. They knew better than to look at them directly or interact with them, but Ben knew that being a leader in any capacity usually attracted a lot of attention.

And so, Ben asked the droid to escort them to the third engine. The entire time, Rey was noting all sorts of details, sometime drawing them to Ben's attention, sometimes just humming and running her hand over the spot.

Ben remembered that just a week before, he had led Rey down these corridors as a prisoner. She was in restraints, with Ben's hand on the small of her back, but still walked with her chin held high and proud.

Now, there were equals.

Ben wondered if he could call them friends, too.

The path to the engine room took them through most of the ship. The droid led them down countless corridors and into several elevators. When they finally reached the engine room, the droid unlocked the door and scurried away at Ben's order.

"So, why are we down here?" Ben asked. The engine was easily the size of a modest ship, and when Rey began to walk toward it, her footsteps echoed. The engine was off, and Ben took a moment to truly appreciate that this was one of numerous engines that kept the capital of the First Order running.

"I grew up picking apart engines like these. I know every tiny part that makes it work," Rey said. She put her finger on the cold metal like she was petting an animal.

"You saw something wrong in the scans that Ava sent," Ben said. Rey nodded and walked a little further, her eyebrows pinched as she prodded different panels.

"This engine wasn't damaged, so why would they think to check it? I just figured I'd do it," Rey said, stopping suddenly and pounding her fist on the engine. This seemed to be what she was looking for, because she found a lever and opened the engine up.

"You're brilliant," Ben said as she stepped inside.

"Thank you," Rey said. "This feels like second nature to me." Her voice echoed from inside the engine, and Ben leaned back against the metal. He didn't want to go inside and distract her from what she was doing, though he also realized that he was too tall to go inside.

"This is where you feel most like yourself?" Metal clanging answered Ben. "What was that?"

"I had to get a panel off to reach deeper," Rey said. "And I guess you could say so. I like swinging around a lightsaber, but this is what I've always done. It's almost comforting."

Ben was silent. He was trying to think of something that made him feel that way. He hadn't had a hobby since he was young. Leia and Han had gifted him a calligraphy set, and Ben had always taken pride in showing how lovely he could make the headings of Leia's official documents.

"Ben?" Rey called.

"I'm here. Just remembering something," Ben said. He could remember how Leia would always show the papers to Han, who'd sling his arm over his son's shoulder and say that he could never make something so fancy.

He hadn't thought of it in ages.

There was a distinct _pop_ noise from inside the engine and Rey let out a satisfied yell.

"Found the part that you were looking for?" Ben asked, glancing back at the entrance.

"Yes!"

"You sound like you missed doing this," Ben remarked.

"It's something familiar. This was my whole life up until… two weeks ago? Less?" Rey said, her voice sounding strained. "And now it's all new."

Ben could almost remember the feeling. After running away from Luke and stealing a ship, he had raced to the planet that would eventually become Starkiller Base. Everything was so different after that.

"I have to pretend around everyone now. This is something I know" Rey said. There was a clicking noise.

"You don't have to pretend around me," Ben said.

"And you don't have to, either," Rey said, and Ben felt like something broke inside of him.

Rey was the first person in years to really know him. Did _he_ even know himself? Every part of his life from the moment he left Luke's academy until the past week had been centered around earning Snoke's approval and trying to come closer and closer to the Dark side. It was a constant push, and Ben was so tired of it.

Why struggle with that anymore? Rey was by his side. She didn't judge him for who he was or what he'd done.

It was time to let go.

So he did.

It felt like Ben's mind had let go of a weight that he'd held for so long that he'd grown accustomed to it. His shoulder's sagged and he breathed in his nose, out his mouth. Something had just changed, but he wasn't sure what.

That's when he felt it. It was so subtle, like a ray of sunshine warming him through a window.

He wasn't sure that it was, but it felt like some part of the Force was reaching out to him.

The Light.

Ben heard Rey's footsteps as she made her way out of the engine. Ben walked to the entrance, feeling a little lighter.

Rey emerged covered in grease with her hair pulled back with a makeshift bun.

Ben thought she looked beautiful.

"All taken care of. Ava can thank me later," Rey said triumphantly. Maybe it was the feeling of the Light finally reaching him after all of these years, maybe it was just Ben's own feelings, but he couldn't help but smile at Rey and reach out to clean a grease mark off of her face with his thumb.

He didn't miss her blush, but he didn't know what to make of it. He cupped her cheek and kept rubbing the spot where the grease had been.

"I don't think this is the look of a Supreme Leader," Rey said, still smiling. Ben knew then that he had feelings for her. He didn't know how deep they ran or when they started. But they were there and they were real.

Rey was searching his face for something, and Ben again cursed the fact that he no longer had a mask to hide his expressions. He tried to settle his face into something that didn't scream that he wanted to kiss her.

"A Supreme Leader looks however they want to," Ben said, and Rey's smile became cocky.

"You're right," she said, brushing his hand off of her face. Ben wasn't sad about it, not when she kept smiling at him.

Ben wasn't afraid.

"Hux will have a stroke if you show him your face like this," Ben said.

"Promise?" Rey responded, her smile completely wicked.

 _Stars above_ , Ben thought, _I'm a dead man_.

* * *

A/N: We're still out here, still writing. Thanks everyone for you patience. Between school and work, it's hard to find time to write. But I don't like leaving things unfinished. Thanks as always to Kat for her proofreading.


	12. Diplomacy

Padme Amidala had been a master diplomat. Leia sometimes liked to think that in her softer, less combative moments, she took after her birth mother. Bail Organa had raised her with Padme in mind, but he had never been able to take away Leia's temper, just teach her how to control it most of the time. Her temper had been her inheritance from Anakin, and she always liked to think that the edge it gave her voice made her a better politician.

Luke, on the other hand, was an awful diplomat. It had taken a full day to convince him that he actually needed to speak to Corellian leaders instead of just being, as he affectionately called it, a 'prop'. Leia had spent almost a week drilling him on talking points, formalities, and persuasion techniques. She put up with his boyish complaints and tendencies to forget other people were in the room with him. Leia didn't think she was a patient woman, but that had changed as she desperately tried to make Luke into something more than a hermit.

"Poe, you be the Prince of the Kimch Mountains," Leia instructed. That morning, they were gathered around a table in a command room Lysa had let them borrow.

"A role I was born to play," Poe said, adjusting his jacket.

"Finn, you're the Leader of the Session," Leia said.

"What is that?" Finn asked, but nevertheless looked ready.

"You try to make sure no one kills each other," Leia explained. The true role of the Leader was complicated and had a long political history, ripe with all sorts of nuance and rules that she knew no one in this room would be interested in hearing. She knew that because she wasn't entirely interested when she heard it during her first visit to Corellia.

But, Leia was a good diplomat, so she listened and learned.

"I can do that," Finn said.

"Good. Rose, you'll be the Guardian of the Debsing Coastline," Leia said. Rose just nodded. "You and the Prince don't like each other. You come from wildly different regions and have different views on government, trade, and human rights.

"Now, Luke," Leia said, finally focusing on her brother. "Our goal is to make both of them agree to lend their regions support to the Resistance. Neither of them were a region that Han grew up in, so we can't use him to persuade them."

Luke nodded, looking nothing like a Jedi Master. He reminded her much more of the boy she had met on the Death Star— stubborn, with his mind in a million other places.

"Prince Dameron, we're so thankful that you've given us a moment of your time," Leia said, and Poe bowed his head dramatically. He was joking, but Leia knew from experience that the move wasn't far off from what the _actual_ Prince was like.

"The pleasure is all mine, General. You and your brother are legends and deserve anyone's time," Poe said, and Leia watched Luke shift uncomfortably in his seat.

"Yes, thank you. And thank you, Guardian, for meeting with us as well," Luke said. It was awkward, but Leia noted that it was better than he had done the day before, where he had forgotten that he needed to thank people when they complemented him.

"I would never turn down an invitation to meet with you, but does _he_ have to be here?" Rose asked, pointing at Poe.

Leia had enjoyed having Poe, Finn, and Rose role-play as various diplomats and leaders because they all jumped into it. They would all be terrific spies. A spy would actually make overthrowing the First Order much easier, but any spies they had sent in had been rooted out in a matter of weeks. Leia knew it was because her son interrogated and tortured them and then simply reached into their minds to find where their loyalties lie.

"Like it or not, my region is more important than you little beach town," Poe said, leaning back in his chair and looking completely arrogant. Again, it was _very_ close to reality.

"How dare you—!"

"Enough! Please focus on why we're here," Finn interjected. Leia gave him an approving nod. In the weeks since leaving the First Order, Finn had become more and more confident. Leia was proud to watch it. A part of her felt like a proud mother.

"Yes, why are we here?" Rose said, pretending to calm herself down, while Poe kicked his feet up on the star-covered table.

"Well, as you know," Luke said, "the First Order has effectively destroyed our ships and resources. We would like to ask you both for your support to the Resistance."

There was silence in the room, which Leia instinctually dreaded, but logically knew was because Poe and Rose were formulating answers.

After all, this was an exercise for them, too. Leia wanted to make sure that they could help run the Resistance if need be.

"Why should we give you our resources if you've shown you're losing. Everything we give might just be a waste," Poe said.

"I have to agree, my people won't be in favor of supporting a war that clearly isn't in our favor," Rose said.

Ouch.

But it wasn't anything Leia hadn't heard before.

"Leia," Luke said, pleading.

"I can't hear suddenly, I'm in a world of my own," Leia said, taking a drink of her tea. Luke glared at her, and she just looked out the window.

"I'm sorry, Master Skywalker, but we just can't pledge our support," Poe said, with a shrug of his shoulders.

"It pains me to say, but I can't support this either. I have to think of my people," Rose said, raising her hands in an apology.

"Please—?" Luke said, and Leia held up a hand.

"Okay. Where did Luke go wrong?" Leia said, and everyone at the table broke character. Poe put his feet on the ground, Rose leaned back in her chair, and Finn immediately leaned forward on his elbows.

"Was it his asking right away for the ships? He didn't schmooze at all," Poe suggested, and Leia made a hand gesture that meant 'a little bit'.

"Begging never looks good, even to more arrogant leaders. Being personable and easing into requests absolutely helps," Leia said, and Poe nodded like he was memorizing every word she just said.

The Resistance would be in good hands if he ever had to take charge. Hopefully he learned from his little mutiny about the importance of thinking things through.

"Maybe he shouldn't have played to both of them at once. Going one on one would've been better," Rose said.

"I'd say you were right at any other time, Rose, but this is a planetary meeting. There won't be any time for one on one conversations," Leia said.

R2-D2, as he entered the room, let out a whistle that left C3PO looking scandalized.

"You cannot just say that about Master Luke!" he cried out, and R2's whistle in return let Leia know that he had gotten just as nasty about 3PO.

"Just tell me what I did wrong so we can fix it," Luke said, sounding exhausted.

"You told them how badly we're losing. Who wants to bet on the losing fathier?" Leia said.

"But we _are_ losing," Luke said, dangerously close to whining.

"Yes, and everyone in the galaxy knows it. But, we need to try and sell them on something positive," Leia said.

"Such as Master Luke returning!" 3PO suggested.

"Thank you, 3PO," Luke said.

"Can we not sell them on the positive of being on the right side of history?" Finn said, and Leia laughed a little.

"I wish we could, but Corellia was a principal planet for recruiting Empire soldiers. They don't care what side of history they're on, as long as it's the one that gives them power," Leia said.

"I didn't know that," Finn said, and Leia didn't blame him. His upbringing didn't exactly allow for him to study galactic history.

"It's how Han ended up as a soldier for a few years, and how he met Chewie," Leia said, and Poe choked on the water he was drinking.

"Han Solo was an _Empire soldier_? And you still married him?" Poe asked, incredulous. Luke smiled, obviously remembering the night on Hoth that Han let it slip. Chewie had to hold Leia back as she screamed for Luke to let her borrow his lightsaber because she had to kill Han on principle.

Her little crush was so painfully obvious.

"Trust me, it was a shock when I learned it. But, as we know, people can change sides," Leia said, smiling kindly at Finn.

"For better or for worse," Rose mumbled. A hush fell over the room.

"Master Skywalker—" Finn began.

" _Luke_."

"Okay, Luke, what really happened with Rey on the island? Did you get to know her at all?" Finn asked.

"How long did you know her?" Luke asked.

"A few days."

"It was about the same for me. You can't really know someone just from a few days," Luke said, and Leia knew she had thought the same thing.

"No," Poe said. Everyone turned to him. "You can absolutely know someone in a short time. I knew Finn for a few seconds and knew he was a good person. And then Rose did the same."

"I actually thought he was a defector and a coward first," Rose said, and Finn winced.

"Oh dear," 3PO said.

"Point is, we were wrong about Rey, but that doesn't mean that you can't ever know if someone is a good person in a short time. So I don't think we should get into that mindset," Poe said.

Leia mulled over his words for a moment and nodded.

"Well said, Poe. We can't give up on trusting people. And I think that's the angle we use in our opening statement," Leia said, and the table nodded in agreement.

Leia, of course, was trying not to think of how trust had been a difficult concept for her to live by after all these years. Bail had only taught her the uncensored history, so she knew how Chancellor Palpatine had become Emperor Palpatine and how Anakin Skywalker had led the attack on the Jedi. She knew that they were trusted. However, Bail had neglected to tell Leia about her direct lineage to Anakin, and perhaps that was a breach of her trust.

Or perhaps he was planning to tell her when she returned to Alderaan with the Death Star plans.

Just another loss.

Luke was looking at Finn as he looked at Poe with genuine thanks and fondness. Luke had a strange look on his face, the same one he made when he had first met Ben.

Leia knew what Luke was thinking, and she had done the same before.

The Force was strong with Finn.

There would be time to think about that and examine just how much the Force was giving to him. But now was a time for diplomacy, not the Force.

Leia reached to run a hand over her cane. Few people knew she'd ever had a lightsaber, and those who did never questioned where it ended up once she stopped carrying it around. Few even questioned why she needed a cane in the first place.

Sometimes weapons were best hidden in plain sight.

"How long do we have until the council meets?" Luke asked.

"A week," Rose said.

"So we have a week to come up with some revolutionary statement and turn me into some talented politician," Luke said, and Leia rubbed her eyes.

"You just have to more personable and charming than you are right now," Leia said. Luke rolled his eyes.

"I'm a Jedi, not a politician," Luke said, and Leia thought back to her histories. Right before the collapse of the Jedi, there really wasn't much of a difference.

"Then do what the Jedi do best and help fight the Dark side," Leia said, and she and Luke glared at each other from across the table for a moment.

Poe broke the silence with a long whistle.

"You two really are twins!" he said, and that broke whatever tension had built in the room. Even R2 let out a squeak that sounded like a laugh.

"Okay, we have one week. Let's run another scenario," Leia said, and everyone, including Luke, adjusted in their seats, ready to take their assigned roles.

* * *

A/N: E


	13. Rules of the Game

As much as Rey wanted to be back with the Resistance with a reformed Ben, she had to admit that she could get used to baths. She knew she could take them wherever the Resistance was hiding out, but they wouldn't compare to the heaven she found on Cantonica. After thanking the servants (who looked startled every time she did), she sank into the tub and let herself relax.

She was on a schedule, though. It had been four days since the _Supremacy_ and somehow she and Ben had settled into the routine of being Supreme Leaders. There were meetings about the repairs and the Resistance.

As far as everyone knew, the repairs were going along perfectly fine. No one knew where the Resistance was hiding, but they swore every day to her and Ben that they were getting closer. Rey doubted it.

After the meetings, she and Ben would retreat back to the mansion and study memos and reports while a trashy holo played in the background. Sometimes, they'd goof off. Ben seemed to be getting better at goofing off.

In the previous four days, Rey had watched something change about him. He seemed unsure of himself, but not in a way that led to self-destruction. His smiles came more freely, and he began talking more. Rey felt the conflict in him growing, but if she were a betting woman, she'd risk it all on the idea that he was choosing the light.

Rey liked Ben Solo. Truly. So while the idea of one day running away to the Resistance and fighting for the good of the galaxy together made Rey smile, the idea of one day telling Ben that she had lied did not.

Rey sank into tub far enough to cover her chin and decided to deal with that issue later.

In the back of her mind, she could feel Ben in the kitchen. He was probably brewing some caf, because he seemed to run on it.

This was normal.

Rey knew it was time to move everything further along and go home. The issue was that this suite she and Ben shared was starting to feel like home. _Ben_ was starting to feel like home.

New clothes were waiting on Rey's bed when she dried off. It was an all black outfit, as she'd come to expect, but she'd also had fun going through shopping holos and picking new outfits for herself. Steadily, Rey had built a wardrobe.

She left her hair down.

When Rey emerged, Ben was reading a book over at the dining room table. His hair was pulled back and he was wearing an undershirt in the place of a cloak or multiple layers. Rey felt a conflict within him at all times of the day, but at least right then, he felt at peace. She knew he could feel her enter the common area, but he didn't look up. Rey didn't say anything to him, but instead she walked to the window, pushed it open, and looked out. The smell of seawater rushed in, and Rey quietly sighed. She loved it. How had she lived so much of her life away from the sea?

Had she let herself become too comfortable here? Had she been so easily swayed from the good of the galaxy by warm baths and the smell of salt?

Rey didn't think so. She had sabotaged the _Supremacy_ , after all. It had been too easy. No one would question a Supreme Leader, and Ben apparently didn't know enough about engines to realize that things should not _clatter_ on the floor when they're supposed to be getting fixed.

And then, more and more, Stormtroopers were getting unruly. There were more reports of insubordination. She hoped that it had something to do with her mention of Phasma's cowardice.

Hopefully it would all be enough to buy the Resistance time to rebuild. Hopefully it would be enough to forgive her.

"Rey?" Ben asked. He was sitting next to her on the windowsill.

"I'm fine. Just enjoying the breeze," Rey said.

"It's nice," Ben agreed.

And they sat together for a while. They didn't speak, and Rey didn't feel the need to.

A few hours later, late in the afternoon, Hux requested to meet with them, and both Rey and Ben groaned. But they accepted the invitation, and found themselves walking to the meeting room in the mansion.

"I hate him," Ben said.

"I know," Rey replied.

They pushed open the door to find Hux sitting alone in the room. He didn't stand when they entered, and Rey didn't particularly care. There was no point in faking respect if there was no one around.

"Supreme Leaders," Hux sneered, and Rey hated this man so much.

"What do you want, Armitage?" Ben asked, his voice dangerously flat.

"I wanted to propose something," Hux said, and Rey took a seat, folding her arms and fixing a bored glare on him.

"Go on," Ben said, clearly uninterested.

"When we find where the Resistance is hiding, I was to immediately launch into battle. There's no point in letting them rebuild further if we have the advantage," Hux said, and Rey felt something odd radiate off of him. She wasn't able to place it.

"Would we not have done that without your brilliant suggestion?" Ben asked.

"I don't know Leaders, would you?" Hux asked, and he send a quick but pointed look in Rey's direction.

Suspicion.

"Leave. I'm tired of you," Ben said, and Hux stood.

"Of course. But, Supreme Leader Rey, could we walk for a moment? I wish to have a word with you in private," Hux said, and Rey felt a spike of anger from Ben. But he said nothing.

Rey was thankful that Ben didn't speak for her.

"Sure," Rey said, and as she left her seat, she turned to Ben. "I'll meet you back upstairs."

And with that, she and Hux left and began down an unfamiliar hallway. It hadn't occurred to Rey until that moment just how little of the mansion she had actually explored.

"You and the Supreme Leader seem to be getting on rather well, considering how less than a month ago you left him for dead," Hux said. Rey rolled her eyes.

"What has happened between us is none of your concern, _General_ ," Rey said, coldly.

"Of course not. I just wonder how exactly a scavenger from a nowhere planet like Jakku rose so quickly to be Luke Skywalker's pupil, only to run away to the First Order," Hux said, and Rey felt the tiniest of nerves creep onto her. Hux was cold and calculating where Ben was fire and rage, so of course he'd be suspicious even when Ben wasn't.

"What are you implying?" Rey asked, keeping her voice deadly calm.

"Nothing, _Rey_."

"Supreme Leader, Armitage," Rey growled, and without warning, Hux pushed her into a small alcove. His forearm pushed her back and held her in place by landing just above her chest. Rey could've easily killed him, but she controlled herself and let her gaze remain steady.

"Kylo Ren might not be able to see though his feelings and see what's happening, but I can. I don't trust you for a second, scavenger. I know you've worked up some scheme and are playing that idiot. You're using him for whatever you want, and I won't stand for it," Hux growled.

"Are you threatening me?" Rey asked, her voice filled with a warning.

"Of course not. You're the Supreme Leader. But know that I'm watching you. And the moment you make one move against us, I won't hesitate," Hux said, and Rey knew he wasn't bluffing.

"Take your hands off me before I remove them," Rey said, grabbing her lightsaber and pointing it.

Hux took a step back. He dropped his arm. And with one final glare, he left her standing in the alcove with the sick knowledge that Hux could ruin her.

She quickly walked in the other direction, back to where Ben was waiting for her, and tried to steady herself.

Ben suspected nothing, but Hux suspected everything.

It was too much.

Rey stepped into the lift and took deep breaths.

She wasn't scared of Hux. She and Ben could end him in a moment's notice.

But what if he was able to prove to Ben that she was lying? Rey didn't know if she could save herself from the wrath of the First Order or the heartbreak from Ben.

And somehow, absurdly, the heartbreak seemed to be the more frightening scenario.

When Rey arrived back inside the private suite, she tried to look as calm as possible. She tried to smooth out whatever stress she was radiating into the Force, because Ben could no doubt feel it.

He was waiting for her on the couch.

"What did he want?" Ben asked. Rey shrugged, trying to be casual.

"He just wanted to be difficult, nothing to worry about," Rey said, and Ben nodded, obviously satisfied with her answer.

Stars, it was easy for her to fool him.

"I had an idea," Ben said, and Rey leaned against the wall across from him.

"Oh?"

"Ava mentioned at the last meeting that Canto Bight was mostly repaired after your… friends' wild night," Ben said, and Rey kept her face neutral when he called the Resistance her friends. She had never implied that she wasn't— if anything, she made it clear from day one that she was still fond of certain people part of it— but it was a dangerous game to begin making ties to the Resistance openly. Especially if Ben wasn't ready to leave.

"That was fast," Rey said, and the cover of Ben's mouth curled into a smile.

"They wasted no time. I was wondering if maybe… you'd like to go? I haven't been to the casino before and was thinking it would be fun," Ben said, only a hint of awkwardness in his voice.

 _Fun_. Ben had said the word _fun_.

The universe was upside down that day, apparently.

"Is it safe?" Rey asked, and Ben almost shrugged.

"No one knows what we look like. To them, we'd just be two more gamblers," Ben said, and Rey thought of what that would be like. Two anonymous humans, just having a _fun_ night together.

It made her heart race a little.

"Okay," Rey said, and Ben's eyebrows rose in surprise.

"Yes?"

"Yeah. It'll be fun. I've never gambled for anything except food. Might as well try taking other people's money," Rey said, and Ben fully smiled.

"Good. You'll need to change," Ben said, standing up and moving to his room.

"Why? Is it fancy?" Rey asked, and Ben actually _smirked_ at her. Or, maybe it was just a fuller smile. It was hard to tell when ben couldn't move some of his face.

"Very. I'll see you in a bit," Ben said, and shut his door.

Rey rushed into her room and threw open her wardrobe. She had picked a few fancy things over the past few days, just because she wanted to know what they felt like. She had never before touched silk or lace. There were a few options, and Rey pulled them out and laid them on her bed.

This was silly. She was a Resistance member working to take down the First Order. There was work to do, and it certainly couldn't be done at a _casino_. But still, she wasn't going to tell Ben no. She wanted to go, and she wanted to go with him, as ridiculous as it was.

Rey stared at her options on the bed. She'd never worn anything half as nice as them, and she figured any of them would do. None of them were black, and she was relieved. After two weeks, she was so tired of only wearing black.

After a few minutes, Rey picked a turquoise dress. There were flecks of gold on it that looked like stars and a matching cape. The fabric was light, and that was familiar to Rey. She carefully put it on and ran her hands over the bodice. The gold was heaviest there, forming something that looked like armor.

Rey loved it. She never wanted to take it off.

After calling for a servant over the comm, Rey looked in the mirror and figured that her hair was nice enough. Frankly, she wasn't entirely concerned over how she looked. She'd gone this long not being concerned with her appearance, she could go one more night the same way.

The servant arrived quickly, and almost curtsied to Rey before catching herself. A few days before, Rey had let all of the people who rushed in and out of the apartment know that they didn't have to bow or curtsy. She'd just prefer if they behaved normally.

"Could you help me with the cape?" Rey asked, and the servant silently helped her into it. She was maybe Rey's age, with straight black hair and a kind face.

"Thank you," Rey said when she was done. The girl nodded, and Rey noticed she was blushing a little. Had anyone ever thanked her before?

The girl rushed out of the room, and Rey sat back on the bed and wondered how she had ended up working in this mansion. Had she come here freely, or was there something more sinister to Gravstar and Cantonica? It was something she would get to the bottom of, and hopefully she'd be able to fix it.

Rey took one last look at herself in the mirror. She couldn't help but give a little twirl, and she was delighted at how the dress looked when it spun. There was a pair of sturdy flats that had come with the dress, and she slipped them on before throwing open her door.

Ben was waiting for her, as usual. He was stunning in a dark red suit, and for a moment Rey never wanted to see him in black again. He was fidgeting with the cuffs, and Rey knew he was nervous. She felt it too.

Ben was speechless looking at her, and Rey blushed a little under his gaze. Through the Force she felt a new emotion coming off of him, and she liked the way it felt and the way he looked at her.

"You… you look… lovely," Ben said, and Rey knew he was trying so hard to not sound as awkward as he did, and that made her smile.

"Thanks. You look great," Rey said, smiling, and Ben Solo actually blushed a little. Rey couldn't stop smiling at him, even as he looked at the setting sun.

"Are you ready?" Ben asked, and Rey nodded. "Do you have your lightsaber?"

"Where would I put it? I thought we were going to be blending in?" Rey asked, and Ben opened part of his suit to show his lightsaber hidden within and hanging out of the jacket ever so slightly.

"Do you have some sort of holster?" Ben asked, and Rey remembered something from the clothes she had picked over the past few days. She went back into her room and found the thigh holster. After grabbing her lightsaber, she went back into the common area and put her leg onto the low table in front of her couch and pulled up the dress.

Rey knew Ben was staring as she strapped on the holster. She felt his feelings intensely through the Force, and she didn't balk at it.

She wanted him to look.

Rey didn't want to think about how much of a mess she was in.

After a tense moment, Rey took her foot off the table and let her dress go back into place. She and Ben stared at each other, and it felt like there was something pulling them together again, just like that night on the couch.

She wanted to kiss him.

Instead, Ben held out his arm for her, and they departed to the casino.

They were quiet in the transport, and Rey wasn't sure if it was from nerves or because Ben didn't speak often around others. The driver never interacted with them, but Rey suspected that Ben always knew of their presence. Canto Bight's lights twinkled as twilight slipped into night, and Rey was enchanted as ever. There was a Galaxy waiting for her out there, and this was just one city. If this war ended in the Resistance's favor, she'd see it all one day.

The transport docked at a private bay, and the driver informed them that they would be waiting right there for them, so there was no need to call for anyone. Rey nodded and slid out of the transport after Ben. There was an entrance to the casino less than ten feet away.

Rey smoothed her dress as Ben took a deep breath next to her. She smiled up at him.

"Ready to win some money?" she asked, and Ben let out a low laugh as she took his arm.

"Trust me, we're more likely to lose," he said as they walked to the door.

He pushed it open, and they were in a bar with all sorts of lifeforms lounging about and drinking. They were all dressed in lavish clothes, and none of them even looked as Ben and Rey walked past them and toward a door that led to the gambling floor.

"Why? Are you that bad at this?" Rey asked, smirking. A corner of Ben's mouth twitched into a smile as he pushed open the door.

"I'm not bad at gambling. Gambling is all about chance, though, and I don't like using the Force to stack the odds," Ben said. Rey looked at the crowd of people and listened to the sea of noise. Everywhere, people played games and laughed. Droids whizzed around the room with drinks and money.

It was overwhelming. It was lovely.

"Where are we going to go?" Rey asked, a little dreamy.

"I can play sabacc. We can start there," Ben said, leading Rey to the left. She'd played sabacc a few times on Jakku and was familiar with the rules.

"When did you have time to learn sabacc? I can't imagine Luke being fond of gambling," Rey said, and Ben frowned a little.

"My father and uncle Lando taught me. It's how Han won the _Falcon_ ," Ben said, and it didn't escape Rey that he had called Han his father.

They descended a flight of stairs that seemed to be made of gold, and Rey watched as someone won a jackpot at a nearby table. Everyone erupted into laughter and applause as the drunk lifeform threw their gold chips into the air. At the table immediately to the left, a human woman flirted with an immaculately dressed man. Her hair had gems woven into it that made is simmer like stars, and the man wore a beautiful red flower on his lapel. When he spotted Rey, he had the nerve to wink at her. Rey blushed and looked away, only to notice Ben glaring in the man's direction.

The pair wove through the crowd, who paid them no mind. Some people even bumped into them, which didn't bother Rey but seemed to surprise Ben. They pushed on to the sabacc tables, with Rey smiling the whole time.

"Are you good at this game?" Ben asked Rey while they looked for a table with two open seats. She shrugged.

"I remember winning a meal or two because of it," Rey said before pointing to a nearby table. They speed walked over and slid in just as the previous hand was being cleared. The dealer smiled at them.

"Are you and your man looking to play, darling?" they asked, and Rey couldn't help but smile at the assumption that Ben was her 'man'. Rey put a hand on his arm and smiled up at Ben. There was something in his eyes that asked her a question.

"Yes, we want to be dealt in," Rey said, and that was the answer.

"Are you familiar with the rules or should we do a quick review?" the dealer asked, masterfully shuffling the deck.

"We know them," Ben said.

"Let's play," Rey added, and she and ben smiled at each other like they had both learned a wonderful secret.

Rounds passed. Rey and Ben both turned out to be decent sabacc players, but were hardly the best as the table. They each won two hands before the tides turned against them. Rey laughed at Ben's pout when he lost, and Ben's free hand kept moving closer to her own. At some point, her hand ended up on top of his.

When they decided they were losing too badly, they left the table and decided to wander through the casino. They never let go of each other's hand. A droid pushed past Rey with a tray full of alcohol, and she lost her balance, but Ben put a hand on her waist to steady her.

Rey knew she had finally crossed an unspoken boundary, a line she couldn't double back on. It was uncharted territory that would only lead to trouble and heartache.

She didn't care. She smiled at Ben's hand, and when he realized that, Ben kept it there for the rest of the night.

As they walked, they commented on the people around them. They laughed at some of the drunker patrons and cheered at unlikely winnings. It all felt so normal.

By the time they made it back to the transport, they were laughing and stumbling into through the bay. Ben picked up Rey's cape as she stepped in, and they sat close together in spite of the massive seat.

The driver said nothing, and Ben continued to laugh about the night with Rey. Her heart warmed at the casual joy he radiated, and through the Force she felt that same feeling from earlier.

She had known what it was from the moment it first appeared, but throughout the night she'd become more and more sure of it.

Attraction.

They walked through the mansion holding hands, and the tension between them grew. Rey wanted him, and it was clear that the feeling was mutual, but she didn't know how to do this. This was a game she'd never had time to learn the rules of. There was no safety on Jakku and no people kind enough for Rey to want to pursue.

And now there was Ben, now opening the door to their suite, and she had no idea what to do.

They stood at the door for a moment, unable to find anything to say, with Rey leaning back against it, before Ben took a a cautious step toward her. Her breath caught in her throat and she couldn't look away from his lips.

She was going to kiss him.

Ben took another step toward her, and another, until he was looking right down at her. He was as nervous as Rey, and she could feel it through whatever connected them. So, Rey took a deep breath to steady herself, and Ben bent his head down.

He rested his forehead against her's, and they were both breathing heavily. Rey was panicking, and she tried to make herself tip her face just a little closer and bring their lips together. Ben had already done half the work, as he was so much taller than her that he would've had to bend down or pick her up.

But Rey couldn't do it.

So they stayed like that for a minute, and Rey knew that this was more intimate than a kiss. Something had changed between them right there, and there was no way they could ever go back.

After a moment, Ben stood straight again, and he instead kissed Rey's hand. The gesture meant more to Rey than she could've told him.

"Goodnight," Ben said, and he walked into the his room and shut the door behind him. Rey leaned on the door for just a little longer, trying to catch her breath and slow her beating heart.

It wasn't until later, as she was curling up in bed and trying to force the thought of kissing Ben from her mind that she realized she hadn't thought of the Resistance once that evening.

* * *

A/N: May the Fourth be with all y'all!


	14. Alone Together

Ben Solo hadn't kissed anyone in a very long time. Long enough, in fact, that he was worried he'd forgotten how to do it. And yet, he had still tried to kiss Rey the night before. Even after he went to his room and stepped into the fresher, he couldn't get Rey out of his head. It had been a long night, and as he thought of their moment against the door, he couldn't help but wonder if Rey was thinking of it too.

Nothing had been obviously different the next morning. Ben had stayed in his room later than usual in an attempt to try and work out what to say to Rey. He'd thought their night had been perfectly romantic and that a kiss would be the natural next step.

Maybe he had misread everything.

He doubted it, though. He felt very sure about their feelings being mutual when he leaned in.

It took Ben several minutes of staring at the door to work up the courage to go out into the common room, where he could feel Rey sitting on the couch.

He kept telling himself it would be fine, they didn't have to talk about it.

But he _wanted_ to talk about it. He wanted to understand why they hadn't kissed.

The thought of talking about it terrified him, though, so he wasn't really sure if he wanted to talk about it at all. This is why he had worn a mask all those years, so he could avoid discussing things that made his emotions show on his face.

And he was sure that anyone who took one look at him could tell that all he was thinking of was Rey.

Ben hated the feeling of apprehension, so he just opened the door.

Rey smiled pleasantly at Ben as he walked into the common area. She gestured to the kitchen with her free hand, and held up a holo with the other.

"I put some caf on," Rey said, and Ben didn't know what to say. He half expected her to be angry or disgusted with him. But, instead, all was normal.

Rey was wearing cozy clothes, much different than her glamorous dress the night before. Ben thought she was just as beautiful.

Usually, the silence between Rey and Ben was comfortable, and Ben would enjoy it. He liked not having to desperately search for something to say. But, on that morning, Ben started feeling anxious as the silence stretched on between them. He kept trying to come up with something to say to start a conversation, and maybe that conversation would bring them to the night before, and maybe that would lead to something new.

Instead, he silently poured his caf, and it didn't escape him that Rey had brewed it the way he liked.

Ben picked up the book he had been reading the day before and sat next to Rey. He sat a little closer than he usually did, but Rey didn't seem to mind.

Just a few weeks ago, Ben would've reached into her mind to find out what she was thinking, but the thought of doing it right then made him a little sick. The thought of doing it _at all_ had the same effect.

They sat silently, as they typically did. They went about their day normally.

It drove Ben crazy. He wanted to tell Rey what he was feeling— really, what he had been feeling since their first vision of each other— but he couldn't find a way to do it. Perhaps being being a villain of the Galaxy for more than a decade had stunted his ability to communicate his feelings.

It sounded like something his mother would say.

For the first time in a long time, Ben missed his parents and he wished he could speak with them and ask what to do. They had, after all, known Rey.

Three mornings after the casino, as they were going about their normal morning routine, Rey threw aside her schedule for the day and groaned.

"We've hardly explored this mansion," Rey said.

"Because Hux is usually lurking somewhere nearby," Ben said, and Rey held out her hand as if to say _fair point_.

"Does he stay here even when there's no meeting?" Rey asked.

"I can't imagine he would. He's staying somewhere nearby and likes to deal with us as little as possible."

"Then what's the point of staying in here all the time?" Rey said, dramatically falling back and letting her head rest on Ben's shoulder. "Let's explore."

"Are you suggesting we use our power as Supreme Leaders to clear our schedule and ignore all the drama in the Galaxy so we can have _fun_?" Ben asked, and Rey immediately smiled at him.

So they did.

Ben was getting used to the idea of having fun. The past decade with Smoke had been brutal and cold. Even with the Knights of Ren, wherever they were in the galaxy, there had been little fun. Still, Ben had been the one to suggest going to the casino three nights before, so maybe something was changing. Maybe he was changing.

The thought of change scared him, so he decided to try and focus on Rey.

They spent the day alone together, wandering through every room in the mansion, even the secret ones. They found passages that could take them from the kitchens out into the garden and ones from the massive library that led to the sea below. One went directly from the meeting room into the hangar, and they took turns guessing what that could be used for.

"Getting officials out of boring meetings when everyone is distracted," Rey said.

"It's an escape route in case an assassin sneaks in," Ben said, and Rey frowned up at him.

"Lighten up a little, Ben," Rey said, and Ben nodded to say he'd try.

Some of the passages were so small that Ben bumped his head on the ceiling as Rey moved swiftly along. She said it was because of all her years scavenging on Jakku. Ben said it was because of how short she was.

Rey picked apples in the garden and Ben thought of how she reminded him of summers in the countrysides of Corellia. Those were some of the fondest memories he had about Leia and Han.

Rey climbed on top of the massive shelves in the library to get a closer look at the architecture in the ceiling, and Ben had to hold the latter as she climbed down. She didn't even check to make sure he was holding on, and her trust in Ben made him feel delighted.

At sunset they found a massive pool on the first floor of the mansion, and Rey suggested they go swimming.

"How can you even swim? You're from a desert planet," Ben said, and Rey shrugged. She pulled off one of her boots, and Ben realized that she was planning to undress on the spot. He felt panic rise up in him, but he couldn't bring himself to object.

Rey pulled off the sleeveless shirt she was wearing and tossed it on top of the boots before shimmying out of her pants. Ben was suddenly very interested in the ceiling. The tiling was lovely. He could tell how much thought had been put into the design—

There was a splash, and before Ben could've even peeked at Rey, she was in the water. For a moment, Ben was worried about her ability to swim. Perhaps she had lied to him just to see how he'd react, she seemed bold enough to do it. But no, Rey was actually able to swim.

And she was swimming in her underwear.

Rey smiled at him expectantly from the water, and Ben knew he'd have to jump in. Rey had already seen him shirtless, so what did it matter? He undid his outer tunic and pulled off his shirt before kicking off his boots and, after a tense moment of deliberation, took off his pants.

Ben knew he was blushing horribly. And he knew Rey was looking. He was focusing on the setting sun, but he made himself look into the pool, where Rey was just barely poking her head out of the water, watching him. She reminded him of a humanoid water species he'd seen during his journeys through the galaxy. Maybe he'd been with Leia and Han. Maybe he'd been with the First Order.

Ben jumped into the water and heard Rey's delighted squeal before his head went under. He let himself sink down. With his eyes closed, Ben let himself enjoy the quiet, dark world he'd plunged into. He felt calm, and he wished that he could always feel that way.

He opened his eyes and Rey was in front of him. Her hair fanned out around her and she smiled at him. Ben smiled back and couldn't help but look at her body.

She was thin, and Ben wondered if she always would be due to her near-constant starving on Jakku. But even then, she was muscular, with her toned stomach and strong arms. This didn't surprise Ben at all. He was floored by how beautiful she was, and he wanted to stay looking at her for as long as he could.

Rey began to swim in a lazy circle around Ben, and though he wanted to stay still and let her continue, he'd run out of air and quickly swam to the surface. Rey followed a moment later.

"There's no reason for you to be able to swim," Ben said, and Rey shrugged and floated onto her back.

"Maybe the Force taught me," Rey said, and Ben figured she was right. The Force did work in mysterious ways. It had tied them together, after all, and now both the Light and Dark were working inside of Ben.

"Did the Force teach you how to fight?" Ben asked, and Rey snorted.

"Are you still mad about Starkiller Base?" Rey asked, and Ben's scar seemed to sting for a moment. It was just a quick phantom pain.

"I just wanna learn how you, some scavenger from Jakku, learned to do all that."

"Well, that's your answer. I'm a scavenger from Jakku. I've been fighting all my life with whatever weapon was closest. So, grabbing a lightsaber? Not a problem," Rey said. She took a deep breath and dove underwater.

Ben thought again about how different their upbringings were. He had everything she never had: a family, security, training. And yet, he was the one who fell to the Dark while she rose to the Light. They were a balance, he supposed, but it felt like the cosmic scales were tipping now.

The Light was calling. It had been for years but never like this. It begged him to come, and he wondered if Rey had anything to do with it.

But, then again, Rey had willingly come to the First Order to rule with him. He'd seen her kill, though he'd also seen how it seemed to wreck her. Was the scale dipping to the Dark?

Or were Ben and Rey finally coming to an equilibrium together?

As Ben was lost in thought, Rey launched out of the water and jumped onto his back. Ben yelped and tried to shake her off to no avail. Rey was laughing and holding onto him even tighter, so Ben fell backwards.

Rey didn't let go of him even in the water, and Ben decided to just swim with her on his back. It felt nice, and he didn't fail to notice how Rey's hands had started to wander over his upper chest.

So, maybe he hadn't been mistaken about the night before.

Her hand brushed a scar on his shoulder, another souvenir from Starkiller Base. Her friend, the defected Stormtrooper, had also proven to be talented with a lightsaber. He was sure Leia would hone in on that.

When they broke for air again they were laughing and Ben splashed Rey. She splashed back. Soon, they were having a water fight like they were children. Ben had never been one to play fair at any game, and so he used the Force to make his waves higher. Rey caught on and lifted large bubbles of water over Ben's head and let them drop.

They were playfully taunting each other and letting their fight escalate, and they didn't even notice the sound of leather boots clicking on the nearby tile.

"I see you two are taking this war seriously," Hux drawled, and Rey rolled her eyes and splashed him. Hux looked furious, and it took everything in Ben not to laugh right into Hux's face.

"What do you want?" Rey asked, and she had much more venom in her voice than Ben had heard before.

"A moment with Supreme Leader Ren," Hux said, and Ben thought this was odd. Even when Snoke had been in charge, Hux avoided being alone with Ben no matter what. They hadn't spoken one-on-one since Rey had taken the throne.

Ben figured it must be urgent, so he pulled himself out of the water and grabbed a towel a servant must have left without Ben noticing. He followed Hux out of the room, past a heavy door, and into a narrow hallway far from the main entrance.

"Are you having fun?" Hux asked, and Ben wanted to slice the smug look off of his face. So much for the Light calling him.

"Just get it over with and say what you want," Ben said.

"As you wish, Supreme Leader," Hux said, voice dripping with sarcasm. "We found where the Resistance has been hiding out."

The floor seemed to drop beneath Ben.

He felt dizzy and couldn't breathe.

They'd found them. There was no way they'd survive another battle. His mother's ragtag army would be annihilated, and her alongside it.

The thought made bile rise in the back of his throat.

"Oh," was all Ben could say.

"As discussed in our meeting a few days ago, we will be moving to attack immediately. Perhaps within the next two days. I expect to see both of you at the war council tomorrow," Hux said.

"Where are they?" Ben asked, feeling like his mouth was moving without his mind controlling it.

"Corellia," Hux said, and with a sharp nod, he turned on his heel and began down the hall.

Ben was frozen to the spot and couldn't think past the rising panic in his heart. He wanted to stop all of it. He wanted to pretend that the Galaxy was as calm as him and Rey in the pool.

"Artmitage," Ben said, and Hux turned over his shoulder.

"Yes?"

"Why tell me in private?" Ben asked, and Hux nodded to the door.

"She doesn't like me very much. Perhaps even less than you do. It's easier this way, dealing with you alone," Hux said, and without anything further, kept walking down the hall until he reached a door. Ben and Rey had explored this hall and knew it led to the docking bay.

Ben didn't move for a long moment. Everything was shattering around him and he felt like he was being ripped apart.

Hadn't this been his goal for a decade? To rule the Galaxy unchallenged?

 _And now with Rey_.

Ben couldn't stand to be alone with his thoughts for a moment longer, and when he opened the door to the pool, Rey was wrapped in a towel and waiting by their clothes.

"Are you okay?" she asked as she rushed to him. "I could feel that something was wrong."

Ben saw the genuine concern in Rey's face and wanted to tell her. He also knew it would be the fair thing to do, as she was his equal. But he couldn't make himself say it. He couldn't tell her it was time to end the Resistance.

"It's something personal between me and Hux," Ben lied, and Rey made a face.

"Was he threatening you?" Rey asked, and Ben hated lying to her, so he decided to just drop it altogether.

"It's nothing. Do you want to go back upstairs?" It was dark outside, and there would be a dinner waiting for them in the suite, as there always was. Maybe Ben could distract himself with food and Rey and a trashy holo. Maybe he'd even be able to sleep that night.

He doubted it.

Rey led the way back upstairs, still wrapped in her towel. She held her clothes and shoes under one arm and her steps were featherlight.

Ben thought about how she was still fond of those in the Resistance. Her Stormtrooper and Leia and Poe Dameron, all her friends. She hadn't protested to Hux's plans when he'd laid them out, but maybe she'd resist if Ben told her.

Just as Ben suspected, there was a hot meal waiting for them when they arrived back at the suite. Without changing into their clothes, they each took their plate and ate. Ben hadn't realized how hungry he was, but they'd been exploring all day and hadn't eaten anything except the apples.

Rey had her legs kicked onto the table, and Ben once again couldn't help but look at them. He couldn't look away from the rest of her. She was the most undressed he'd ever seen her, and he let his desire drive his panic away.

Rey locked eyes with him and smiled.

"What?" Rey asked, and Ben blushed but forced himself to not look away.

"It's just that…" Ben began, and awkwardly cleared his throat. He hated this feeling of apprehension.

"Yes?" Rey asked, a smirk on her face. Ben realized that she knew what she was doing to him. She was playing a game.

"I don't know what I'm doing, Rey," Ben admitted, and then she was in his lap, the towel slipping away.

"Honestly," she said, smile still on her face, "I don't either."

This time, Ben didn't hesitate. He leaned in and closed the gap between them.

Kissing Rey was wonderful. She was bold, just as she always was, and took the lead. One of her hands slid up to cup Ben's cheek while the other looped around his shoulders to pull him closer. Ben wondered if she'd done this before, but didn't want to pull away and ask. Instead, he just kept kissing her.

Cautiously, he let his hands rest on her waist. And then, when Rey decided to deepen the kiss, one of his hands went to her hair, and the other slid down, down until—

"Is this okay?" Ben asked, suddenly breaking their kiss. Rey looked breathless as she nodded and smiled.

"It's perfect," Rey said. Ben looked at her, sitting in his lap in just her underwear, beautiful and freshly kissed. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," Ben said, nodding. He knew he looked silly, but he didn't care, because Rey kissed him again.

At some point his own towel had slipped away, and they were skin to skin as they continued. It was better than any kiss Ben had before and his heart was hammering in his chest. He would've traded away the Galaxy to do this again and again, and it brought a smile to his face to realize that he didn't have to. Rey was right there, in his lap, smiling into the kiss.

When they broke apart next, Rey pressed her forehead to Ben's, just as they'd done a few nights before. Her hands went to his chest, and she took her time feeling every inch of it. And then, with a little bit of hesitation, they slid lower.

"Ben," Rey said, hands freezing.

"Rey?" Ben asked, trying to hold back a gasp.

"Is this okay?" Rey asked, and Ben nodded very quickly, making Rey giggle a little. He was enthusiastic and awkward, but Rey didn't seem to mind at all.

"Then, do you want to do this somewhere a little more comfortable?" Rey asked.

"Yes," Ben said, and then he was standing, still holding Rey. She threw back her head and laughed as the wrapped her legs around his waist, and Ben took this as an invitation to kiss her neck.

And so he carried Rey back to his room and, after kicking the door shut, they felt like the only two people in the Galaxy. Finally alone, together.

And Ben truly liked it that way.


End file.
